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LIFE  AND  SERVICE   SERIES 

Edited  by 
Henry  H.  Meyer  and  David  G.  Dowaej 


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JAN   •     1918 


STUDIES    IN    THE 
PARABLES  OF  JESUS 


HALFORD  E.  LUCCOCK 


THE   ABINGDON   PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


COPTRIGHT,   1917,  BT 

HALFORD  E.  LUCCOCK 


All  Bible  verses  quoted  in  the  body  of  each  chapter  are  taken  from  the  Ameri- 
can Standard  Edition  of  the  Revised  Bible,  copyright,  1901,  by  Thomas  Nelsoa  & 
Sons,  and  used  by  permission. 


CONTENTS 

CBAPTEB  PA  OB 

Life  tLnd  Service  Series 5 

.  A  Word  from  the  Author 7 

I.  The  Lost  Sheep.    The  Lost  Coin 9 

II.  The  Prodigal  Son 18 

III.  The  Parable  of  the  Sower 28>- 

IV.  The  Two  Foundations 37 

V.  The  Pearl  of  Great  Price.     The  Hidden 

Treasure 45 

VI.  The  Good  Samaritan 55 

VII.  The  Ten  Virgins 65 

VIII.  The  Unmerciful  Servant 75  i 

IX.  The  Talents 85 

X.  The  Pharisee  and  the  Publican 95  ^ 

XI.  The  Rich  Fool 104 

XII.  The  Mustard  Seed.    The  Leaven 113 

XIII.  The  Last  Judgment 123 


LIFE  AND  SEEVICE  SEEIES 

Evidences  are  not  wanting  of  an  increasing-  popular 
demand  for  sliort  courses  in  Bible  study  and  courses  deal- 
ing with  various  practical  aspects  and  problems  of  the 
Christian  life  in  its  larger  relationships.  Such  studies 
are  demanded  for  use'  as  elective  courses  in  adult  Bible 
classes,  among  voluntary  study  groups  in  colleges  and 
preparatory  schools  and  for  High  School  credit  in  week- 
day religious  instruction. 

In  order  to  meet  these  various  needs  it  is  proposed  to 
provide  as  rapidly  as  may  be  consistent  with  a  high  stand- 
ard of  excellence,  a  variety  of  short  courses  to  be  known 
as  the  Life  and  Service  Series.  There  will  be  included 
in  this  series  studies  in  selected  important  portions  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  together  with  courses  in  practi- 
cal ethics,  social  service,  Christian  doctrine  and  other  sub- 
jects of  special  interest  to  the  groups  for  which  these 
studies  are  intended. 

The  treatment  of  the  subject  matter  in  each  case,  while 
popular  in  style,  will  be  scholarly  in  spirit  and  modern  in 
point  of  view,  suitable  alike  for  class  work  and  for  indi- 
vidual study. 

It  is  desirable  that  each  member  of  the  class  study- 
ing the  parables  have  a  copy  of  the  Studies  and  as  far  as 
possible  read  and  reflect  upon  the  chapter  before  the 
session.  He  will  then,  like  the  householder  "who  bringeth 
forth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old,"  be  ready  to 
contribute  helpfully  to  the  discussion  in  class  and  to  profit 
the  more  by  its  fruits. 

A  simple  and  rewarding  order  of  study  is  this:  First 
read  Professor  Moffatt's  translation  of  the  parable  at  the 
beginning  of  the  lesson,  comparing  it  with  other  versions. 
When  the  Gospels  give  parallel  accounts  of  the  parables 

5 


6       STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

these  should  be  read.  They  are  as  follows:  Chapter  I, 
Matthew  18.  10-14;  III,  Mark  4.  1-20,  Luke  8.  4-8;  IV, 
Luke  6.  46-49;  IX,  Luke  19.  11-27;  XII,  Mark  4.  30-32, 
Luke  13.  18-21.  Endeavor  to  see  with  the  mind's  eye  the 
incident  recorded  by  the  parable  in  all  its  vividness.  Then 
read  the  chapter  thoughtfully.  It  will  be  noticed  that  here 
and  there  in  the  text  occur  unanswered  questions.  The 
wise  reader  will  stop  to  reflect  upon  them  for  his  own  sake. 
Similar  questions  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  each  chapter. 
In  the  class  session  these  and  others  may  be  discussed.  In 
all  the  chapters  the  light  which  the  parable  throws  on  the 
character  of  Jesus  and  on  the  nature  of  his  Kingdom  should 
be  considered.  And,  finally,  "be  ye  doers  of  the  Word  and 
not  hearers  only." 

The  Editors. 


A  WORD  FROM  THE  AUTHOR 

"The  parts  of  the  Bible  that  I  like  best,"  said  an  old 
Scotch  lady  to  Dr.  Thomas  Guthrie,  "are  the  likes."  She 
unconsciously  spoke  for  a  large  section  of  the  world.  "The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like" — these  are  among  the  most 
enchanted  words  of  human  speech.  For  nineteen  centuries 
the  world  has  listened  with  eager  heart  to  the  great  Teacher 
unfolding  the  truths  of  God  and  life  in  the  matchless  stories 
of  the  parables.  Age  cannot  wither  nor  custom  stale  the 
infinite  variety  of  their  application  to  human  life,  its  prob- 
lems and  its  needs. 

The  present  studies  do  not  attempt  to  present  a  fresh 
exposition  of  the  parables  dealt  with.  No  part  of  the  Bible 
has  been  more  adequately  treated.  The  chapters  aim, 
rather,  to  make  an  application  of  the  parables  to  the  con- 
ditions of  present-day  life  in  a  manner  that  may  be  sug- 
gestive and  helpful  for  Bible  class  study  and  discussion. 
One  sure  effect  of  such  a  study  in  the  light  of  the  com- 
plex conditions  of  modern  life  is  that  we  are  struck  with 
a  new  amazement  at  the  limitless  range  of  their  application 
to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  life  and  the  timelessness  of 
their  message.  We  realize  with  a  fresh  sense  of  their  truth 
the  words  of  Jesus:  "Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away." 

In  the  text  of  the  chapters  the  quotations  from  the  Bible 
are  from  the  American  Revised  Version.  For  the  sake, 
however,  of  the  freshness  and  insight  which  the  reading  of 
a  new  translation  gives,  each  chapter  has  been  prefaced 
by  the  parable  as  it  occurs  in  the  recent  translation  of  the 
New  Testament  by  Professor  James  Moffatt,  the  noted 
English  scholar.  It  is  believed  that  students  and  readers 
of  the  Word  will  welcome  the  opportunity  to  read  and 
compare  this  with  the  older  and  more  familiar  versions. 

Halford  E.  Luccock. 
7 


BIBLIOGEAPHY 

For  the  student  of  the  parables  there  is  a  rich  and  easily 
accessible  literature.  The  titles  of  a  few  of  the  best-known 
and  most  useful  books  of  exposition  are  given  below. 
Grateful  acknowledgment  for  constant  help  is  freely  made 
to  these  and  to  other  writers  and  commentators  on  the 
Gospels. 

Marcus  Dods.  The  Parables  of  Our  Lord.  Methodist 
Book  Concern.  One  volume  is  on  the  parables  in  Matthew 
and  one  on  those  in  Luke.  These  are  probably  the  best 
for  the  teacher  and  the  general  student. 

Richard  C.  Trench.  Notes  on  the  Parables.  Fleming 
H.  Revell  Co. 

A.  B.  Bruce.  The  Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ.  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern. 

G.  H.  Hubbard.  The  Teaching  of  Jesus  in  Parables. 
The  Pilgrim  Press.  This  is  the  most  recent  exposition  of 
the  parables  and  very  suggestive. 

Various  English  Authors.  The  Parables  of  Jesus.  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern. 


CHAPTEE   I 
THE  LOST  SHEEP.  THE  LOST  COIN 

Luke  15.  1-10 

Now  the  taxgatherers  and  sinners  were  all  approaching  him 
to  listen  to  him,  but  the  Pharisees  and  the  scribes  complained, 
"He  welcomes  sinners  and  eats  along  with  them!"  So  he  told 
them  this  parable,  "Which  of  you  with  a  hundred  sheep,  if 
he  loses  one,  does  not  leave  the  ninety-nine  in  the  desert  and 
go  after  the  lost  one  till  he  finds  it?  When  he  finds  it  he  puts 
it  on  his  shoulders  with  joy,  and  when  he  gets  home  he  gathers 
his  friends  and  neighbours:  'Rejoice  with  me,'  he  says  to  them, 
'for  I  have  found  the  sheep  I  lost.'  So,  I  tell  you,  there  will 
be  joy  in  heaven  over  a  single  sinner  who  repents,  more  than 
over  ninety-nine  good  people  who  do  not  need  to  repent.  Or 
again,  suppose  a  woman  has  ten  shillings.  If  she  loses  one 
of  them,  does  she  not  light  a  lamp  and  scour  the  house  and 
search  carefully  till  she  finds  it?  And  when  she  finds  it  she 
gathers  her  women-friends  and  neighbours,  saying,  'Rejoice 
with  me,  for  I  have  found  the  shilling  I  lost.'  So,  I  tell  you, 
there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  a  single 
sinner  who  repents." 


How  These  Parables  Touch  Us 

Some  one  has  called  Jesus  Christ  "the  great  contempo- 
rary." To  each  new  century  and  to  each  new  generation 
he  speaks  with  an  unfailing  timeliness.  The  central  ideas 
of  the  three  parables  of  the  lost,  the  Lost  Sheep,  the  Lost 
Coin,  and  the  Prodigal  Son,  touch  very  closely  some 
dominating  interests  of  present  day  life  and  thought.  They 
deal  with  "the  lost,"  with  God's  treatment  of  them  and 
our  treatment.  They  represent  an  interest  so  compelling 
in  the  life  of  Jesus  that  they  are  frequently  called  "the 
Gospel  in  the  Gospel."  It  is  an  interest  which  is  closely 
related  to  the  vast  and  increasing  concern  of  modern  life 
in  lost  things  and  their  reclamation  and  conservation. 

9 


10      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

We  see  this  interest  on  every  hand.  Widespread  atten- 
tion to  loss  of  life  is  shown  in  the  "safety  first"  movement 
in  railroading  and  industry.  It  appears  in  the  conquest 
of  preventable  diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis,  typhoid,  and 
the  elimination  of  preventable  blindness.  We  see  also  a 
nation-wide  interest  in  lost  resources,  an  awakening  to  the 
waste  of  natural  wealth  and  power.  More  recently  we  have 
developed  a  new  interest  in  lost  energy  and  the  saving  of 
energy  and  motion  made  possible  by  scientific  management. 
During  the  last  fifteen  years  three  words  have  had  a  great 
vogue  in  our  national  thought  and  speech,  each  represent- 
ing a  great  interest  in  wasted  powers — uplift,  conservation, 
and  efficiency.  Again  there  was  never  a  time  when  men 
were  asking  more  earnestly  what  should  be  the  attitude 
of  society  to  its  outcasts,  the  delinquent,  the  criminal,  and 
convict.  Are  prisons  for  punishment  or  reform?  What 
shall  be  our  personal  attitude  to  offenders?  These  are 
"live"  questions  to-day.  Thus  nothing  could  be  more 
contemporaneous  with  present  interests  than  the  words 
of  Jesus,  "The  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost."  These  were  the  controlling  interests  of 
Jesus — the  uplift  of  men,  the  conservation  of  spiritual 
resources  and  the  efficient  direction  of  life. 

The  Histoey  of  a  Sneer 

These  parables  were  called  forth  by  the  murmuring  sneer 
of  the  Pharisees  and  scribes,  when  the  publicans  and  out- 
casts drew  near  to  hear  Jesus — "This  man  receiveth  sinners 
and  eateth  with  them."  "Who  can  refute  a  sneer?"  asks 
Paley.  Time  has  refuted  this  sneer  of  the  Pharisees,  for 
it  is  now  chiefly  interesting  for  the  unimpeachable  testi- 
mony it  gives  of  the  attraction  which  Jesus  had  for  "sin- 
ners," those  who  were  regarded  as  outcasts  in  strict  reli- 
gious circles.  The  very  words  have  become  the  highest 
tribute  ever  paid  to  Jesus,  "the  Priend  of  sinners."  Very 
frequently  sinful  men  avoid  a  man  of  spotless  character 
and  reputation.  Why  was  it  different  in  Jesus'  case  ?  Why 
is  it  that  so  much  that  is  commonly  termed  goodness  to- 
day repels  rather  than  attracts  men  ?  How  can  this  result 
be  avoided? 


THE  LOST  SHEEP.    THE  LOST  COIN       11 

Common  Elements  in  Three  Parables 

There  are  two  great  teachings  set  forth  with  transparent 
clearness  and  cumulative  force  in  the  three  parables  of  the 
Lost  Sheep,  the  Lost  Coin,  and  the  Prodigal  Son.  They 
are  the  very  essence  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus :  God's  esti- 
mate of  man's  value;  and  the  contrast  between  the  active, 
seeking  love  of  God  and  the  Pharisaic  attitude  of  loveless 
indifference  to  the  lost. 

God's  Estimate  op  Man's  Value 

The  picture  which  Jesus  so  tenderly  draws  of  the  shep- 
herd leaving  the  ninety-nine  sheep,  to  go  and  search  for 
the  one  which  had  wandered  away,  sets  forth  irresistibly 
the  value  which  one  man  has  for  God.  The  Fatherhood 
of  God  means  that  nothing  else  can  ever  take  the  place  of  a 
son  in  the  Father's  heart. 

As  civilization  increases  in  complexity  alid  the  bounds 
of  knowledge  expand,  there  is  more  and  more  need  for  the 
revelation  which  Jesus  brought  of  a  God  in  whose  eyes 
every  man  has  an  eternal  place  which  is  for  himself  alone. 
Many  forces  to-day  impel  men  to  feel  the  littleness  and 
Insignificance  of  the  individual.  The  vast  universe  dis- 
closed by  science  has  given  to  many  people  an  almost 
crushing  sense  of  the  small  importance  of  an  individual 
human  life.  If  the  psalmist,  as  he  looked  up  into  the 
heavens,  was  overawed  by  the  thought,  "What  is  man, 
that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?"  how  much  more  over- 
whelming is  our  sense  of  the  immensity  of  the  universe ! 
Where  the  psalmist  saw  only  a  few  thousand  stars  we  may 
look  through  a  Lick  telescope  and  see  millions.  One  effect_ 
of  the  theory  of  evolution  has  been  to  give  to  many  people 
an  idea  of  nature  in  which  the  individual  counts  for  little 
more  than  the  bubble  on  the  crest  of  the  wave. 

"So  careful  of  the  type  she  seems. 
So  careless  of  the  single  life." 

The  factory  system,  where  a  man  seems  like  a  small  cog 
interlocked  with  thousands  of  others  in  a  vast  impersonal 
machine,  and  where  the  men  are  usually  designated  by  a 


12      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

number,  distinctly  lessens  the  value  placed  on  each  man. 
Low  wages  are  another  cause  of  the  diminishing  estimate 
of  a  man's  worth.  To  the  question  once  asked  by  Jesus, 
"How  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep?"  the  sad  an- 
swer may  be  returned  from  a  thousand  factory  towns  and 
mines,  "No  better  \"  There  is  still  point  to  the  bitter  cry 
of  Thomas  Hood  uttered  fifty  years  ago : 

"O  God!  that  bread  should  be  so  dear 
And  flesh  and  blood  so  cheap!" 

The  influence  of  nationalism,  particularly  in  war,  when 
men  are  simply  units  in  a  great  national  force,  with  its 
emphasis  on  the  aggregate  mass  rather  than  the  personal 
units  which  compose  it,  has  had  the  same  general  effect. 

The  picture  of  man's  value  given  by  Jesus  in  this  parable 
supplies  a  wholesome  corrective  to  this  tendency.  We 
have  had  quite  enough  "bird's-eye  views"  of  men,  in  which 
they  seem  very  small  and  insignificant.  We  need  a  view 
of  man  as  he  appears  in  God's  eyes,  with  a  unique  value 
which  all  the  rest  of  creation  cannot  replace.  When  a 
child  wanders  away  from  him,  God  has  the  heartache  and 
sense  of  loss  which  an  earthly  parent  feels.  Do  we  usually 
think  of  sin  in  its  effect  on  the  one  who  sins  rather  than 
on  God  who  grieves  for  his  child  ?  Which-  aspect  is  princi- 
pally in  view  in  this  parable  ?  Is  this  conception  of  God  as 
actively  interested  in  the  welfare  of  every  man  commonly 
held?  What  is  the  usual  conception  of  God  held  by  the 
average  inan  who  is  not  actively  religious  ? 

The  Basis  of  Democeacy 

The  picture  of  the  impartial  love  and  concern  of  God 
for  the  last,  the  least,  and  the  lost,  is  the  most  thorough- 
going basis  for  democracy  ever  set  forth.  How  it  strikes 
at  the  root  of  every  kind  of  special  privilege!  of  national 
pride !  Small  wonder  that  the  Pharisees  saw  their  own 
structure  of  exclusiveness  tottering  to  its  fall  under  Jesus' 
teaching !  The  parable  virtually  creates  all  men  equal  in 
the  sight  of  God.  The  Pharisees  were  spiritual  "snobs." 
What  bearing  has  this  parable  on  present-day  snobbery? 
James  Eussell  Lowell  said  that  there  was  "dynamite  enough 


THE  LOST  SHEEP.     THE  LOST  COIN       13 

in  the  New  Testameut  to  blow  civilization  to  pieces."  This 
parable  is  full  of  social  dynamite  in  the  sense  that  it  "blows 
to  pieces"  many  pretensions  to  exclusive  worth.  Why  is 
it  that  social  and  religious  inequality  and  exclusiveness  of 
class  and  caste  have  been  sanctioned  for  so  long  by  people 
who  profess  Christianity?  What  kinds  of  snobbery  exist 
in  the  world  to-day? 

When  Is  a  Man  ''L^ost^? 

Is  your  usual  conception  of  the  term  "lost"  as  used  in 
the  gospel  that  of  a  finally  determined  condition  of  a 
person,  an  eternal  destiny  ?  Do  you  think  it  has  that  mean- 
ing in  this  parable  ?  Does  not  the  word  "lost"  seem,  rather, 
to  mean  that  "the  soul  is  in  the  grip  of  forces  which,  if 
left  to  themselves,  will  sooner  or  later  bring  disaster"? 
(McConnell.)  The  sheep  had  not  come  to  destruction 
when  the  shepherd  found  it.  It  was  lost  simply  because 
it  was  wandering  in  the  wilderness  without  a  leader.  Jesus 
seems  to  have  in  mind,  then,  people  who  have  lost  their 
direction  in  life.  Like  the  sheep  in  the  wilderness,  they 
are  living  wandering,  aimless,  drifting  lives.  A  man  is 
lost,  in  Jesus'  conception,  when  he  has  lost  his  direction, 
when  his  life  is  a  succession  of  thoughts  and  actions  which 
are  not  directed  to  the  true  end  of  life  or  controlled  by  a 
right  purpose.  He  may  or  may  not -be  immoral  or  dissi- 
pated. His  "lostness"  is  not  determined  by  whether  or  not 
he  indulges  in  the  gratification  of  appetite,  but  by  whether 
his  life  has  true  direction  and  worthy  purpose.  How  does 
faith  in  Christ  restore  a  man  who  is  lost  in  the  sense  in 
which  we  have  been  discussing  the  term  ?  What  light  does 
this  parable  throw  on  what  it  means  to  be  "saved"? 

Substitutes  for  the  Search  of  the  Shepherd 

This  parable  has  an  outlook  in  two  directions.  In  it 
Jesus  reveals  the  character  of  God.  He  also  gives  a  model 
for  human  action.  The  point  of  these  stories  was  in  the 
phrase,  "Go  thou  and  do  likewise."  What  stirred  the 
Pharisees  to  wrath  was  Jesus'  insistence  that  any  other  atti- 
tude toward  sinful  men  than  that  of  positive,  seeking  love 
was  unlike  God's  attitude  and  hence  wrong.    The  attitude 


14      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

of  the  Pharisees  could  not  stand  the  strong  light  of  com- 
parison with  God's  attitude.  How  well  does  your  habitual 
attitude  toward  those  who  have  wandered  away  in  evil- 
doing  stand  the  same  comparison?  Is  it  one  of  earnest 
good  will  which  refuses  to  be  stopped  from  active  efforts 
toward  restoration  ?    Is  any  other  attitude  really  Christian  ? 

Consider  some  ways  of  thinking  about  those  who  have 
wandered.  Have  you  ever  heard  these  excuses  made  by 
Christian  people  to  explain  why  they  were  not  more  con- 
cerned with  others'  welfare?  Have  you  ever  thought  in 
a  similar  way  yourself? 

'''They  will  probably  come  back  all  right."  Did  you  ever 
know  of  any  Sunday  school  scholars  lost  permanently  tu 
the  church  because  their  teacher  had  this  lazy  idea  of 
duty? 

"The  great  majority  are  safe." 

"It's  their  own  fault." 

"It  is  not  my  business  to  go  after  them."  What  light 
does  this  parable  throw  on  what  is  a  Christian's  business  ? 

"They  are  not  worth  much  anyhow."  This  may  seem  to 
be  so  heartless  as  to  be  very  uncommon,  but  is  it?  Have 
you  ever  heard  any  opinions  about  the  natives  of  non- 
Christian  countries  which  sounded  like  this  ? 

The  Lost  Coin:  God  Seeking  a  Lost  Force 

In  addition  to  the  common  elements  which  it  shares 
with  the  parable  of  the  Lost  Sheep,  the  Lost  Coin  adds 
the  idea  that  we  are  not  only  necessary  to  God's  love  but 
also  to  his  purposes.  A  coin  is  so  much  compressed  power. 
It  has  purchasing  value,  and  its  loss  to  the  woman  repre- 
sented just  that  much  less  ability  to  bring  about  her  pur- 
poses and  desires.  God  is  a  Father  desiring  to  restore  his 
family  circle ;  but  he  is  also  the  Builder  of  a  kingdom,  and 
for  a  son  to  be  away  from  him  means  the  loss  of  so  much 
potential  energy  for  bringing  in  that  order  of  society  which 
we  call  his  Kingdom.  Jesus  continually  thought  of  men 
in  terms  of  their  possibilities.  It  was  so  when  he  looked 
on  Peter  and  said  to  him,  "Thou  art  Simon" ;  "thou  shalt 
be  called  Peter."  As  Jesus  looked  on  men  who  had  wan- 
dered away  into  sin  he  beheld  a  great  loss  of  spiritual 


THE  LOST  SHEEP.    THE  LOST  COIN       15 

energy.  As  we  look  on  men  do  we  usually  think  of  what 
they  might  be  and  do  to  help  to  establish  the  kingdom  of 
God?  Think  of  the  relation  of  your  own  abilities  to  the 
tasks  of  the  Kingdom  in  your  community.  Is  all  your 
possible  force  at  the  disposal  of  God? 

The  coin  was  not  lost  in  the  sense  that  its  value  was 
destroyed.  "It  was  just  as  good  as  it  ever  was.  It  was 
lost  simply  in  that  it  was  out  of  right  relations.  It  had  been 
swept  out  with  the  dust  or  had  rolled  off  into  the  corner 
or  down  through  the  crack.  If  we  may  carry  out  the  sug- 
gestiveness  of  the  word  itself,  it  was  lost  because  it  was 
out  of  circulation"  (McConnell).  We  see  from  this  more 
clearly  how  large  a  meaning  the  word  "lost"  had  for  Jesus 
as  he  applied  it  to  men.  This  idea  of  a  man's  being  lost 
when  he  is  out  of  helpful  contact  with  his  fellow  men  is 
the  same  truth  as  that  expressed  elsewhere  by  Jesus :  "He . 
that  saveth  his  life  shall  lose  it."  Whoever  holds  himself 
aloof  from  sympathetic  and  sacrificial  contact  with  men 
is  a  long  distance  away  from  the  purpose  which  God  has 
for  him,  no  matter  how  rigidly  he  has  observed  legal  re- 
quirements. Eighteousness,  in  Jesus'  mind,  always  in- 
cluded social  helpfulness,  the  continual  giving  of  one's 
life  in  daily  circulation  among  others.  He  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  those  lost  in  this  manner,  that  they  might  be 
restored  to  a  right  working  relationship  to  God  and  so 
become  an  available  part  of  God's  force  in  the  world. 

How  do  men  to-day  become  lost  and  separated  from  help- 
ful contact  with  others?  Many  men  are  lost  behind  the 
cash  register.  Instead  of  finding  any  outlet  for  their 
energies  in  broad  human  sympathies  and  service,  their  sole 
passion  is  for  making  entries  under  "Cash  Eeceived."  They 
well  deserve  Goldsmith's  famous  epitaph  on  Burke, 

"Who,  born  for  the  universe,  narrowed  his  mind,  -^ 

And  to  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind." 

For  such  a  one  George  Sand  suggested  the  epitaph — "Bom 
a  man,  died  a  grocer."  Others  allow  some  specialty  to  re- 
move them  almost  entirely  from  the  world's  need.  "They 
are  like  a  needle,  just  as  sharp  and  just  as  narrow."  Others 
are  lost  in  their  homes.    They  find  a  selfish  content  within 


16      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

/'  their  own  pleasant  four  walls  and  close  their  eyes  to  out- 

I  side  need.     As  far  as  helping  forward  the  kingdom  of 

/  God  is  concerned,  a  man  may  be  as  useless  in  a  busy  office 

/  or  a  quiet  library  as  in  a  saloon.    What  are  the  strongest 

/  motives  which  may  be  brought  to  bear  on  an  isolated  selfish 

/  life? 

I  Turning  the  World  Upside  Down 

The  picture  of  the  woman  diligently  sweeping  the  whole 
house  to  find  the  lost  coin  presents  the  truth  that  seeking 
the  lost  is  a  very  upsetting  business.  While  it  was  going 
on,  the  woman's  house  was  literally  turned  upside  down, 
making  it  very  uncomfortable  for  everyone  in  the  house. 
The  enterprise  of  winning  men  back  to  God  is  a  very  up- 
setting process  in  the  world  to-day.  It  involves  disturbance 
of  comfort  and  long  established  use  and  custom.  It  in- 
volves another  thing,  and  that  the  sorest  point  of  all — 
profits-  The  social  conditions  under  which  men  live  must 
frequently  be  changed  before  the  lost  can  really  be  reached 
by  the  message  or  effective  evangelistic  work  done.  The 
profits  of  many  a  business  founded  on  special  privilege, 
the  payment  of  wages  below  a  living  standard,  the  traffic 
in  things  which  debase  and  debauch  men — these  things 
must  be  changed  as  a  necessary  part  of  seeking  the  lost. 
Hence  many  people  prefer  to  be  left  undisturbed  in  their 
ease  under  the  old  conditions  rather  than  establish  new 
conditions  under  which  the  lost  may  be  reclaimed.  Take, 
for  instance,  a  mill  town  where  men  are  worked  long  hours 
for  low  wages  and  charged  excessive  prices  at  a  company 
store,  where  child  labor  abounds  and  saloons  flourish. 
What  does  seeking  the  lost  mean  there?  It  calls  for  ex- 
actly what  the  woman  who  lost  the  coin  did  in  her  house — 
the  changing  of  things  about  so  that  the  people  may  be 
really  reached.  Why  do  some  business  men  insist  that  the 
minister  should  preach  the  "simple  gospel"  whenever  he 
begins  to  attack  some  strongly  established  evil?  What  do 
they  mean  by  the  "simple  gospel"?  What  is  the  "simple 
gospel"  ? 

Foe  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

The  parables  are  often  called  the  "World's  Greatest  Short 


THE  LOST  SHEEP.     THE  LOST  COIN       17 

Stories."     How  would  you  compare  Jesus  with  others 

of  the  world's  great  story-tellers?    With  ^Esop  or  Bun- 

yan,  for  example? 
What  forces  in  modern  life  have  had  the  effect  of  lessening 

the  value  and  importance  of  the  individual  man?    How 

does  the  teaching  of  Jesus  counteract  these  forces? 
Is  the  work  of  winning  men  back  to  God  harder  to-day 

than  it  was  fifty  years  ago?    Give  reasons  for  your  an- 
swer. 
Is  there  greater  temptation  to-day  for  men  to  wander  away 

from  religious  influences  than  a  century  ago?    In  what 

respects  ? 
What  bearing  have  these  parables  on  the  subject  of  the 

treatment  of  the  criminal? 
Is  '"■'snobbery"  a  sin?    What  is  a  snob?     With  how  many 

different  kinds  of  snobs  are  you  familiar? 
What  modern  parallels  to  the  attitude  of  the  Pharisees 

toward  the  publicans  and  outcasts  can  you  think  of? 
Why  do  some  people  find  it  hard  to  believe  in  God's  deep 

concern  for  the  salvation  and  welfare  of  one  man  ? 
How  may  a  real  concern  for  the  restoration  of  men  to  their 

best  possibilities  be  cultivated? 


CHAPTEE   II 
THE  PEODIGAL  SON 

Luke  15.  11-32 

He  also  said:  "There  was  a  man  who  had  two  sons,  and 
the  younger  said  to  his  father,  'Father,  give  me  the  share  of 
the  property  that  falls  to  me.'  So  he  divided  his  means  among 
them.  Not  many  days  later,  the  younger  son  sold  off  every- 
thing and  went  abroad  to  a  distant  land,  where  he  squandered 
his  means  in  loose  living.  After  he  had  spent  his  all,  a  severe 
famine  set  in  throughout  that  land,  and  he  began  to  feel  in 
want;  so  he  went  and  attached  himself  to  a  citizen  of  that 
land,  who  sent  him  to  his  fields  to  feed  swine.  And  he  was 
fain  to  fill  his  belly  with  the  pods  the  swine  were  eating;  no 
one  gave  him  anything.  But  when  he  came  to  his  senses  he 
said,  'How  many  hired  men  of  my  father  have  more  than 
enough  to  eat,  and  here  am  I  perishing  of  hunger!  I  will  be 
up  and  off  to  my  father,  and  I  will  say  to  him,  "Father,  I  have 
sinned  against  heaven  and  before  you;  I  don't  deserve  to  be 
called  your  son  any  more;  only  make  me  like  one  of  your 
hired  men." '  So  he  got  up  and  went  off  to  his  father.  But 
when  he  was  still  far  away  his  father  saw  him  and  felt  pity 
for  him  and  ran  to  fall  upon  his  neck  and  kiss  him.  The  son 
said  to  him,  'Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before 
you;  I  don't  deserve  to  be  called  your  son  any  more.'  But  the 
father  said  to  his  servants,  'Quick,  bring  the  best  robe  and  put 
it  on  him,  give  him  a  ring  for  his  hand  and  sandals  for  his 
feet,  and  bring  the  fatted  calf,  kill  it,  and  let  us  eat  and  be 
merry;  for  my  son  here  was  dead  and  he  has  come  to  life, 
he  was  lost  and  he  is  found.'  So  they  began  to  make  merry. 
Now  his  elder  son  was  out  in  the  field,  and  as  he  came  near 
the  house  he  heard  music  and  dancing;  so,  summoning  one 
of  the  servants,  he  asked  what  this  meant.  The  servant  told 
him,  'Your  brother  has  arrived,  and  your  father  has  killed 
the  fatted  calf  because  he  has  got  him  back  safe  and  sound.' 
This  angered  him,  and  he  would  not  go  in.  His  father  came 
out  and  tried  to  appease  him,  but  he  replied,  'Look  at  all  the 
years  I  have  been  serving  you!  I  have  never  neglected  any  of 
your  orders,  and  yet  you  have  never  given  me  so  much  as 
a  iiid,  to  let  me  make  merry  with  my  friends.  But  as  soon  as 
this  son  of  yours  arrives,  after  having  wasted  your  means 
with  harlots,  you  kill  the  fatted  calf  for  him!'     The  father 

18 


THE  PEODIGAL  SON  19 

said  to  him,  'My  son,  you  and  I  are  always  together,  all  I 
have  is  yours.  We  could  not  but  make  merry  and  rejoice,  for 
your  brother  here  was  dead  and  has  come  to  life  again,  he 
■was  lost  but  he  has  been  found.' " 


The  Two  Lost  Sons 

All  generations  of  Christians  have  agreed  in  calling  the 
story  of  the  Prodigal  Son  the  Pearl  of  Parables.  Judged 
either  by  its  literary  form  or  by  the  importance  of  its  spirit- 
ual truth,  it  holds  an  unrivaled  place,  not  only  in  the  Bible, 
but  in  the  world's  literature.  The  story  of  the  prodigal's 
journeying  and  return  is  told  with  such  matchless  beauty 
and  simplicity  and  contains  such  an  infinitely  tender  ap- 
peal to  all  wanderers,  and  such  an  assurance  of  welcome 
from  the  father,  that  it  is  enshrined  in  the  world's  affec- 
tions. 

This  must  not  obscure  from  us  the  point  that,  as  Jesus 
told  the  parable,  it  was  a  story  of  two  lost  sons.  His 
attention  was  not  given  solely  to  the  prodigal.  It  was  to 
the  portrait  of  the  elder  brother  that  Jesus  chiefly  invited 
the  attention  of  the  Pharisees  who  complained  of  his  asso- 
ciation with  sinners.  He  drew  their  own  portrait  in  the 
elder  brother  and  let  them  "see  themselves  as  others  see 
them,"  above  all,  as  God  sees  them  in  their  loveless  con- 
tempt and  indifference  to  the  lost.  Jesus  showed  that 
the  son  who  stayed  at  home  was  just  as  much  lost,  because 
he  was  as  far  away  from  liis  father  in  spirit,  as  the  boy 
who  wandered  away.  Keep  this  in  mind  during  your 
study.  Have  you  been  accustomed  to  think  of  a  certain 
class  of  people  and  a  certain  class  of  acts  when  you  hear 
the  word  ''sinners"  ?  What  kind  of  acts  were  they  ?  What 
light  does  this  parable  throw  on  your  idea  of  what  a 
''sinner"  is? 

"Beeaking  Home  Ties" 

The  prodigal's  story  portrays  in  telling  strokes  the 
natural  history  of  lawlessness.  The  self-willed  desire  of 
the  prodigal  to  "see  life,"  to  lay  out  life  for  himself  and 
for  his  own  pleasure,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  prodigal's 


20      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

sin  and  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  moral  evil.  The  rest  of 
the  story,  with  its  record  of  gross  sin,  is  just  the  natural 
unfolding  of  that  attitude.  While  the  prodigal  was  still 
at  home,  chafing  under  the  restraint  of  his  father's  house, 
wishing  he  were  away  from  the  home,  he  already  made 
the  beginning  of  his  sin  and  tragedy.  "A  darkened  heart 
is  the  far  country,"  says  Saint  Augustine,  "for  it  is  not 
by  our  feet  but  by  our  affections  that  we  either  leave  Thee 
or  return  unto  Thee." 

The  prodigal  gives  very  different  names  to  his  actions 
at  the  end.  When  his  father  divided  unto  him  the  in- 
heritance, no  doubt  he  proudly  referred  to  his  situation  as 
"independence."  He  was  a  man  now,  no  longer  tied  to  any- 
one. He  would  show  people  what  a  bright  young  man 
with  money  and  no  hampering  limitations  could  do.  While 
the  life  in  the  far  country  was  at  the  height  of  its  excite- 
ment he  would  call  it,  with  much  gusto,  "seeing  life.'* 
Later,  when  his  funds  were  gone,  and,  with  them,  his 
fair-weather  friends,  it  was  a  case  of  'Tiard  luck."  Only 
as  he  went  through  the  last  full  measure  of  painful  want 
and  was  making  his  way  back  to  his  father,  did  he  find 
the  real  name  for  all  these  high-sounding  illusions. 
"Father,  I  have  sinned,"  he  cried,  seeing  the  truth  squarely 
at  last.  It  had  been  sin  under  all  these  masquerades. 
This  inability  to  give  the  right  names  to  our  actions  is  a 
constant  accompaniment  of  sin.  There  is  no  surer  moral 
safeguard,  as  well  as  no  higher  moral  duty,  than  that  of 
calling  things  by  their  right  names.  Do  you  see  clearly 
in  this  regard?  Do  you  ever  call  by  an  agreeable  name 
an  action  of  yours  which  in  reality  is  much  less  agreeable  ? 

The  Tragedy  of  the  Far  Country 

There  was  a  twofold  tragedy  for  the  prodigal  in  the  far 
country — waste  and  its  inevitable  sequel,  want.  The 
picture  of  the  rioting  career  of  the  prodigal  is  one  familiar 
to  all  ages,  and  a  more  pitiable  spectacle  earth  never  sees — 
the  waste  of  power,  of  possibilities,  of  dreams  and  ideals 
and  hopes  of  youth.  All  these  priceless  Jewels  of  per- 
sonality are  carelessly  thrown  into  the  mire  of  sensuality. 

While  this  tragedy  of  waste  caused  by  sensual  appetites 


THE  PRODIGAL  SON  21 

is  a  common  one,  it  is  by  no  means  the  only  one.  The 
far  country  of  bodily  appetites  is  not  the  only  one  to  which 
men  travel  to  wreck  their  lives  of  their  best  possibilities. 
The  journey  need  not  end  in  a  literal  pigpen.  "Ever}' 
waster  is  a  prodigal,"  and  whoever  wastes  in  any  irrespon- 
sible manner  the  powers  and  time  which  God  has  given 
him  is  a  prodigal.  It  is  significant  that  in  the  novel  by 
:•  Winston  Churchill  called  The  Far  Country  the  sin  into'' 
which  the  hero  of  the  story  is  led  is  not  the  dissipation 
of  appetite  so  much  as  the  loss  of  his  early  inherited  ideals 
and  the  gradual  lowering  of  his  standards  of  right  and 
wrong  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  What  kinds  of 
waste  do  you  think  of  other  than  that  of  the  appetites? 

It  is  an  accurate  picture  of  life  which  Jesus  draws  when 
he  relates  that  after  the  waste  of  riotous  living,  "there  arose 
a  mighty  famine  in  that  country,  and  he  began  to  be  in 
want.'*  Want  always  follows  waste.  The  friends  who 
helped  him  spend  his  money  scatter  rapidly  when  it  is  all 
gone  and  he  faces  the  famine  alone.  In  utter  destitution 
he  is  reduced  to  the  worst  ignominy  which  could  be 
thrust  upon  a  Jew.  The  enforced  labor  in  the  pig  sty 
speaks  eloquently  of  the  enslaving  character  of  sin.  This 
is  the  end  of  his  boisterous  quest  for  libert}' — a  compelled 
swineherd !  It  is  the  end  of  every  search  for  liberty  by 
way  of  license.  ''Every  man  who  sets  out  for  what  he 
calls  liberty,  using  the  world  as  a  servant  to  minister 
to  his  pleasures,  must  submit  to  having  the  relations 
reversed  so  that  the  world  uses  him  as  its  drudge  and 
sin  as  its  slave."  The  man  who  takes  alcoholic  liquor 
as  a  means  of  finding  "liberty  from  the  cares  and  anxieties 
of  daily  life  illustrates  this  enslaving  character  of  appetite. 
It  does  give  a  temporary  freedom  from  the  weight  of  the 
responsibilities  of  life,  but  all  the  time  it  fastens  a  new 
bondage  upon  the  man's  life. 

The  hunger  of  the  ragged  boy  in  the  pig  sty,  so  famished 
that  he  would  eat  the  husks  that  the  swine  ate,  well  pictures 
the  bankruptcy  to  which  vicious  dissipation  brings  a  man. 
It  brings  financial  dissipation,  as  it  came  to  the  prodigal. 
This  is  the  least  part  of  the  bankruptcy  of  sin.  I3ut  even 
here,  when  we  think  of  money  as  compressed  power  and. 


22      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

think  of  the  vast  possibilities  for  good  it  contains,  the 
squandering  of  money  in  gratification  of  a  base  appetite 
is  a  tragic  waste.  But  far  worse  than  financial  loss  is  the 
physical  damage  which  it  brings,  the  effects  of  which  are 
permanent  and  which  extend  their  curse  frequently  through 
the  next  generation,  and  even  beyond  that.  We  never 
reckon  the  full  effects  of  a  young  man's  "having  his  fling" 
at  sin  and  "sowing  his  wild  oats"  without  considering  the 
children  born  to  heritages  of  sickness,  blindness,  or  feeble- 
mindedness through  the  sins  of  the  fathers. 

"When"  a  Man  Comes  to  Himself" 

In  this  extremity  of  misfortune  the  homesick,  famish- 
ing boy  remembers  the  plenty  of  his  father's  house.  The 
illusions  of  sin  are  gone  and  in  their  place  he  sees  clearly 
the  ugly  realities  of  the  consequences  of  dissipation.  As 
these  realities  were  seen,  "he  came  to  himself."  What  do 
you  think  these  words  of  Jesus  imply  about  the  nature  of 
sin?  Does  it  seem  to  indicate  that  in  Jesus'  mind  the 
vicious  impulses  were  not  the  real  man,  and  that  when  he 
was  dominated  by  them  he  was  not  himself?  Note  how 
deeply  this  expression  of  Jesus  has  affected  our  use  of 
language.  When  a  man  does  a  thing  poorly,  how  quick 
we  are  to  excuse  him  and  say,  "He's  not  himself  to-day !" 
In  which  way  do  we  arrive  at  the  fairest  estimate  of  a  man 
— when  we  judge  his  worst  side  and  worst  mood  to  be  the 
real  man,  or  his  best?  Which  method  of  judgment  pre- 
vails more  among  the  people  you  know  ? 

There  are  several  levels  in  "coming  to  oneself."  It 
is  a  lifelong  process  really  to  "come  to  oneself"  and  find  the 
true  reach  of  one's  capacities  and  the  utmost  possibilities 
of  one's  service.  For  the  prodigal  in  the  barnyard  it  was 
leaving  the  far  country  of  sin  that  was  the  result  of  com- 
ing to  himself.  But  there  were  other  and  later  steps  to 
be  taken  after  he  got  home  in  order  to  reach  the  full  pos- 
sibilities of  his  personality  in  service.  Is  there  not  some 
step  for  you  right  now — some  higher  ideal  of  personal  life, 
some  additional  service  undertaken,  some  habit  relin- 
quished, which  shall  be  a  coming  to  yourself  in  a  larger 
way  for  you? 


THE  PEODIGAL  SON  33 

God's  Answer  to  Kepentance 

While  he  is  yet  a  great  way  off  the  father's  eager  eyes 
discern  the  returning  boy  and  he  runs  out  to  meet  him. 
He  erects  no  barriers  of  reproach.  He  does  not  scrutinize 
his  son's  motives  for  coming  back.  His  heart  is  filled  only 
with  a  flood  of  joy  that  the  long  lost  boy  has  returned  and 
the  welcome  is  unconditional  and  complete.  God  is  quick 
to  discern  the  faintest  movement  of  the  heart  toward  him. 
"He  takes  ten  steps  to  our  one." 

The  prodigal's  honest  confession  is  well  worth  noting. 
He  makes  no  effort  to  excuse  himself.  He  does  not  try  to 
soften  matters  and  speak  of  his  "faults"  and  '"failings." 
He  does  not  say,  "I  have  been  a  little  wild,"  He  does  not 
try  to  put  the  blame  on  his  companions  or  lug  in  that 
scapegoat  en  which  the  blame  of  a  million  sins  is  placed 
— "circumstances."  Could  the  father  have  treated  him 
in  the  same  forgiving  way  if  he  had  tried  to  defend  or 
excuse  his  action?  Do  you  ever  find  Jesus  making  allow- 
ances for  a  man  who  makes  allowances  for  himself  ?  What 
excuses  do  you  find  most  often  given  for  sin  to-day  ? 

The  Joy  of  Eeligion 

The  fifteenth  chapter  of  Luke  tells  the  story  of  three 
merrymakings.  Joy  over  the  restored  runs  through  all 
these  stories.  In  Jesus'  estimate,  joy  was  an  ever-present 
element  of  religion.  Why  is  it  that  the  religion  of  so  many 
people  frequently  lacks  a  deep  feeling  of  joy  and  becomes 
such  a  staid,  colorless  business?  Is  not  one  part  of  the 
reason  that  there  is  so  little  real  longing  for  others  in  it  ? 
It  was  because  the  shepherd  had  cared  so  much  and 
searched  so  earnestly  that  he  felt  such  unrestrained  joy 
over  the  finding.  It  was  because  the  father  loved  the 
prodigal  that  he  sent  for  the  best  robe  and  the  ring.  The 
joy  we  get  out  of  our  religion  depends  on  the  earnestness 
which  we  put  into  it. 

Preservation  vs.  Eescue 

Beautiful  as  the  story  of  the  prodigal's  return  is,  with  its 
tender  pictures  of  forgiveness  and  penitence  and  restora- 


24      STUDIES  IN  THE  PASABLES  OP  JESUS 

tion,  one  cannot  help  thinking  how  much  finer  it  would 
have  been  if  he  had  never  gone  away  into  the  far  country 
of  sin  at  all.  How  much  more  beautiful,  happy,  and  use- 
ful his  life  would  have  been,  if,  instead  of  the  wasted 
physical  vigor,  never  wholly  regained,  the  bitter  memories, 
the  wasted  time,  never  to  be  recovered,  the  impaired  capaci- 
ties and  lessened  influence,  he  had  grown  up  at  home 
into  a  fully  developed  manhood  with  all  its  powers  pre- 
served and  disciplined !  How  much  more  of  worth  would 
unbroken  companionship  with  his  father  have  put  into  his 
life !  As  we  hold  these  two  possible  life  courses  together 
in  our  minds  does  it  not  suggest  forcibly  how  much  greater 
a  thing  the  preservation  of  a  boy  from  a  life  of  sin  is  than 
rescuing  him  after  he  has  gone  the  full  length?  Which 
of  these  two  forms  of  work  yields  the  larger  results  ?  What 
measures  may  be  utilized  in  keeping  a  boy  from  wandering 
away  into  gross  sin?  Do  the  boys  of  your  church  find  in 
it  a  legitimate  outlet  for  their  energies  and  enthusiasm  and 
spirits  so  that  they  do  not  need  to  find  it  outside  in  ques- 
tionable and  dangerous  places?  How  about  the  boys  of 
your  community?  What  is  your  class  doing  to  safeguard 
the  boys  of  your  neighborhood  or  town  ? 

The  Eldee  Beotiieb 

No  comment  on  the  elder  brother  could  make  the  con- 
trast between  the  father's  welcome  and  the  elder  brother's 
spirit  so  glaring  as  the  simple  reading  of  the  parable.  To 
turn  from  the  father  to  the  elder  brother  is  like  stepping 
from  the  flower-laden  air  of  June  into  a  nipping  Decem- 
ber chill.  In  the  father  there  is  the  throbbing  overflow 
of  joy;  in  the  elder  brother  every  genial  current  of  the 
soul  is  frozen.  In  the  father's  whole  action  and  speech  we 
feel  the  self-f orgetfulness  of  a  generous  emotion.  The  only 
emotion  which  touches  the  elder  brother  is  the  venomous 
one  of  sullen,  self-centered  jealousy.  The  salvation  of  his 
brother  from  destruction;  his  restoration  to  honor  and 
love,  the  healing  of  the  breach  in  the  home — all  these, 
which  should  have  stirred  the  blood  of  a  brother's  heart, 
left  no  impression  upon  his.  In  every  word  he  speaks  the 
hard  rasp  of  selfishness  is  heard.     In  the  first  sentence 


THE  PKODIGAL  SON  25 

he  speaks  he  refers  to  himself  five  times !  He  will  not 
call  his  brother  by  that  uame,  but  in  what  seems  the  most 
cruel  touch  of  all,  he  speaks  of  him  to  his  father  as  '*Thy 
son/' 

Though  all  this  time  he  had  been  busy  about  the  affairs 
of  his  father,  he  did  not  share  at  all  his  father's  love  for 
the  other  boy.  He  did  not  even  love  his  father,  or  he  would 
have  rejoiced  at  the  great  happiness  which  had  come  to 
him.  He  had  stayed  at  home  and  worked  all  these  years, 
not  because  by  doing  so  he  could  be  with  the  father  he 
loved  and  help  him,  for  that  plainly  meant  nothing  to  him. 
Ho  had  stayed  in  the  spirit  of  mechanical,  slavish  drudgery, 
doubtless  because  he  had  figured  out  that  it  would  pay. 
It  is  possible  for  persons  to  be  actively  engaged  in  church 
work  and  y6t  have  little  or  no  religious  interest  and  little 
concern  for  those  outside.  What  effect  does  this  have  on 
the  church  ?    How  can  such  a  condition  be  prevented  ? 

The  elder  brother  was  also  quite  wrong  in  his  idea  of 
righteousness.  He  showed  this  when  he  said  to  his  father, 
"I  never  transgressed  a  commandment."  It  was  all  negative. 
The  Pharisees  rated  themselves  righteous  on  account  of  the 
number  of  things  they  abstained  from  doing.  Jesus'  idea 
of  goodness  was  never  merely  the  absence  of  bad  things. 
rt  always  included  positive,  good  actions.  What  effect 
does  it  have  on  a  man's  character  when  his  idea  of  good- 
ness and  righteousness  is  negative  ?  Give  examples  of  your 
answer.  A  very  materialistic  thought  of  reward  was  also 
the  elder  brother's.  He  thought  only  of  things.  Saint 
Augustine  made  the  pertinent  comment  centuries  ago  that 
the  elder  brother  looked  to  the  getting  of  something  from 
God,  in  preference  to  possessing  all  things  in  God.  To  a 
true  son  the  father's  love  and  companionship  are  a  reward 
beyond  all  else.  It  is  Jesus'  teaching  that  the  highest 
reward  of  a  child  of  God  is  the  Father  himself  and  not  any 
gifts  or  benefits.  Can  a  person  be  really  a  Christian  who  is 
so  because  it  pays  ? 

The  elder  brother  warns  each  of  us  of  the  danger  of  the 
"sins  of  the  disposition."  With  all  his  vigor  and  earnest- 
ness Jesus  pointed  out  the  enormity  of  unbrotherliness, 
contempt,  and  pride.    The  most  scathing  denunciations  he 


26      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

ever  pronounced  were  launched  against  those  sins  as  tliey 
appeared  in  the  Pharisees.  The  elder  brother  embodies 
these  sins,  and  they  are  just  as  ugly  and  destructive  to  the 
finer  qualities  of  the  spirit  as  the  coarser  dissipation  of 
the  younger  brother.  Is  it  as  easy  to  recognize  these  sins 
of  the  disposition,  such  as  jealousy,  selfishness,  avarice, 
unbrotherliness,  pride,  contempt,  as  sins  of  appetite  ?  How 
may  one  guard  against  them? 

If  the  Prodigal  Had  Met  His  Brother  First 

Suppose  the  prodigal  had  met  his  elder  brother  before  he 
had  met  his  father,  what  would  have  happened?  He 
would  have  gone  back  to  the  far  country  undoubtedly.  He 
would  have  been  discouraged  from  his  purpose  to  come  back 
by  the  cold,  suspicious,  cynical  attitude  of  his  brother. 
What  a  terrible  ending  it  would  have  made  to  the  story ! 

Bring  this  possibility  close  home.  What  do  you  think 
does  happen  in  thousands  of  similar  cases  ?  Are  not  many 
wanderers  kept  away  from  their  father's  house  because 
they  meet  the  elder  brother  in  the  vestibule  ?  Are  you  the 
elder  brother  whom  some  returning  sinner  has  met?  It 
is  a  very  serious  thing  to  consider  that  the  only  chance 
some  people  have  of  seeing  the  Father  God  is  what  they  see 
of  him  in  our  character  and  action.  Is  your  attitude  to 
those  trying  to  lift  themselves  out  of  a  bad  past  into  a 
better  future  anything  like  that  of  the  prodigal's  father? 

For  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

What  is  the  difl'erence  between  willfulness  and  self-re- 
liance ? 

What  contrast  do  you  find  between  the  request  of  the 
prodigal,  "Give  me  my  portion  of  the  inheritance,"  and 
the  spirit  of  the  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  "Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread"  ? 

Why  does  distance  from  home  mean  a  moral  testing  ?  What 
is  a  man's  real  character,  what  he  is  at  home  or  what 
he  is  when  away? 

As  opposed  to  the  quickly  exhausted  pleasures  of  dissipa- 


THE  PEODIGAL  SON  27 

tion,  what  would  you  name  as  "the  durable  satisfactions 
(.f  life"  ? 

Wliieh  is  the  easier  way  to  judge  men,  at  their  best  or  at 
their  worst? 

Do  you  think  the  "sins  of  disposition  are  harder  to  over- 
come than  the  sins  of  appetite"?  Why  do  you  think 
as  you  do? 

When  the  prodigal  was  wasting  his  substance,  did  he  enjoy 
freedom  ?  What  is  freedom  ?  Is  it  freedom  to  do  what 
we  please  in  defiance  of  all  the  laws  that  surround  us? 


CHAPTEE    III 
THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER 

Matthew  13.  1-9,  18-25 

That  same  day  Jesus  went  out  of  the  house  and  seated  him- 
self by  the  seaside;  but,  as  great  crowds  gathered  to  him,  he 
entered  a  boat  and  sat  down,  while  all  the  crowd  stood  on  the 
beach.  He  spoke  at  some  length  to  them  in  parables,  saying: 
"A  sower  went  out  to  sow,  and  as  he  sowed  some  seeds  fell  on 
the  road  and  the  birds  came  and  ate  them  up.  Some  other 
seeds  fell  on  stony  soil  where  they  had  not  much  earth,  and 
shot  up  at  once  because  they  had  no  depth  of  soil;  but  when 
the  sun  rose  they  got  scorched  and  withered  away  because 
they  had  no  root.  Some  other  seeds  fell  among  thorns,  and 
the  thorns  sprang  up  and  choked  them.  Some  other  seeds 
feel  on  good  soil  and  bore  a  crop,  some  a  hundredfold,  some 
sixty,  and  some  thirtyfold.  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  listen 
to  this."  .    .    . 

Now,  listen  to  the  parable  of  the  sower.  When  anyone  hears 
the  word  of  the  Realm  and  does  not  understand  it,  the  evil 
one  comes  and  snatches  away  what  has  been  sown  in  his 
heart;  that  is  the  man  who  is  sown  'on  the  road.'  As  for 
him  who  is  sown  'on  stony  soil,'  that  is  the  man  who  hears  the 
word  and  accepts  it  at  once  with  enthusiasm;  he  has  no  root 
in  himself,  he  does  not  last,  but  when  the  word  brings  trouble 
or  persecution  he  is  at  once  repelled.  As  for  him  who  is  sown 
'among  thorns,'  that  is  the  man  who  listens  to  the  word,  but 
the  worry  of  the  world  and  the  delight  of  being  rich  choke 
the  word;  so  it  proves  unfruitful.  As  for  him  who  is  sown 
'on  good  soil,'  that  is  the  man  who  hears  the  word  and  under- 
stands it;  he  bears  fruit,  producing  now  a  hundredfold,  now 
sixty,  and  now  thirtyfold." 


A  Paeable  of  Hearing 

It  is  no  accident  that  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  is  placed 
first  of  all  the  parahles.  It  has  this  place  Ix^cause  it  deals 
with  a  matter  which  is  preliminary  to  all  real  effectiveness 

28 


THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER  29 

of  the  gospel,  the  matter  of  hearing.  This  parable  is  not  a 
.sermon  on  what  the  truth  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is,  so 
much  as  it  is  a  sermon  on  how  to  hear  the  truth.  Before 
Jesus  tells  his  followers  the  truth  of  the  Kingdom  in  other 
parables  he  warns  them  earnestly  in  this  one,  "Take  heed 
how  ye  hear."  This  becomes  more  clear  if  we  think  of  it 
as  "The  Parable  of  the  Soils,"  rather  than  by  the  name 
which  it  has  received  from  its  opening  words,  the  Parable 
of  the  Sower.  The  sower  and  the  seed,  so  far  as  the  story 
goes,  do  not  receive  the  main  emphasis.  The  object  of 
emphasis  and  importance  is  the  soil  and  the  influence 
which  different  kinds  of  soil  have  on  the  harvest.  Its  one 
great  truth  is  that  just  as  the  harvest  depends  on  the  kind 
of  soil  into  which  the  seed  falls,  so  the  effect  and  power 
of  God's  truth  in  the  world  depend  on  the  condition  of 
heart  and  mind  of  those  who  hear  it.  The  whole  parable 
is  a'  forcible  commentary  on  the  words  of  Proverbs — "Keep 
thy  heart  with  all  diligence ;  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of 
life.'' 

A  Bit  of  Jesus'  Autobiography 

"All  great  literature,"  says  Robertson  Nicoll,  "is  auto- 
biography." By  this  he  means  that  the  writing  which  has 
made  the  deepest  impression  on  the  world  has  expressed 
a  real  experience  or  first-hand  observation  of  the  author. 
The  story  of  the  sower  illustrates  this,  for  it  undoubtedly 
expresses  the  experience  of  Jesus  himself.  What  has  been 
true  of  the  reception  of  the  gospel  by  different  types  of 
hearers  through  all  the  history  of  Christianity  was  first 
true  in  the  experience  of  its  Founder.  The  parable  carries 
conviction  as  a  description  of  life  because  it  came  out  of 
life.  Jesus  himself  was  "a  sower  who  went  forth  to  sow." 
It  may  well  have  been  that  even  as  he  looked  out  over  his 
audience  by  the  lakeside  he  saw  before  him  all  these  kinds 
of  hearers.  Many  of  the  Pharisees  were  "wayside  hearers" 
with  minds  so  hardened  that  his  new  truth  could  not  enter. 
He  had  met  again  and  again  the  impulsive  followers  with- 
out depth,  whose  allegiance  was  not  proof  against  hardship 
or  toil.  Too  well  he  knew  the  disciple  whose  good  purposes 
were  crowded  out  by  other  interests,  like  the  one  who  an- 


30      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

swered  Jesus'  call  to  discipleship  by  pleading  to  be  allowed 
to  wait  until  his  father  died  (Luke  9.  59) ;  or  the  one  who 
wished  to  postpone  his  discipleship  for  social  duties  (Luke 
9.  61).  Of  this  class  Jesus  sadly  said,  "No  man,  having 
put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Think  of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus 
in  connection  with  these  different  kinds  of  hearers.  Large 
multitudes  heard  him;  only  a  mere  handful  became  his 
permanent  disciples.  What  was  the  reason  ?  To  which  of 
these  three  classes  of  hearers  do  you  think  that  most  of 
those  who  fell  away  from  Jesus  belonged  ? 

Four  Kinds  of  Soil 

The  portrayal  of  these  four  different  conditions  of  mind 
and  heart,  which  may  describe  one  man  at  different  times 
and  under  different  conditions  or  different  men,  falls  into 
four  natural  divisions :  the  hard  life,  the  shallow  life,  the 
crowded  life,  and  the  fruitful  life. 

The  Hard  life 

Jesus  had  noticed  that  some  seed  produced  no  fruit  be- 
cause it  did  not  get  into  the  ground.  It  fell  on  a  footpath 
across  the  field,  where  the  ground  had  been  tramped  solid 
and  smooth,  or  in  a  cart-wheel  track  where  it  found  no 
entrance.  It  had  no  more  chance  to  grow  there  than  it 
would  have  on  a  smooth  piece  of  marble.  The  soil,  once 
as  good  as  any  other  soil,  had  been  trampled  on  so  con- 
stantly that  it  was  hard  and  impervious.  The  seed  would 
lie  on  the  surface  as  on  a  pavement  and  the  birds  would 
soon  pick  it  up. 

It  is  just  as  impossible  for  truth  to  get  into  some  minds, 
Jesus  said.  They  simply  do  not  take  it  in.  The  mind  throws 
off  the  truth  as  a  slated  roof  throws  off  hail.  Jesus'  ex- 
planation of  this  condition, — "heareth  the  word  .  .  .  and 
understandeth  it  not," — covers  a  multitude  of  very  familiar 
habits.  No  one  detail  can  be  singled  out  and  pointed  to 
with  the  words,  "That  is  what  it  means  to  be  a  wayside 
hearer."  In  general,  it  means  the  attitude  which  regards 
the  Word  of  God  as  a  thing  apart  from  actual  life,  which 


THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER  31 

is  not  allowed  a  controlling  place  in  determining  conduct. 
For  instance,  religion  is  for  many  a  formal  thing,  which 
never  really  stirs  life.  Perhaps  they  belong  to  a  church- 
going  family  and  their  attitude  to  church  going  is  that 
of  mild  thoughtless  submission.  In  these  circumstances, 
the  preaching  of  God's  truth,  which  ought  to  plow  deep 
into  their  hearts  and  turn  over  the  hard  crust  of  custom 
and  indifference,  does  not  touch  their  will  at  all.  Do  you 
know  many  such  hearers  of  the  Word?  Have  you  ever 
been  one  of  them  ? 

The  mind  becomes  impenetrable,  too,  by  the  hardening 
effect  of  habit  and  the  wearing  of  the  daily  routine.  These 
processes  may  cause  us  to  lose  the  capacity  for  impressions, 
to  become  hardened  even  to  good.  How  may  a  person 
prevent  habit  and  routine  from  destroying  the  openness  of 
his  mind  and  heart  and  the  freshness  and  reality  of  his 
religion  ?  Our  minds  may  be  impervious  because  of  preju- 
dice. Why  did  the  Pharisees  form  a  prejudice  against 
Jesus?  What  are  your  prejudices?  How  can  a  person 
overcome  a  prejudice  ?  One  of  the  worst  habits  of  hearing 
is  the  common  one  of  applying  it  all  to  some  one  else.  Do 
you  ever  catch  yourself  thinking,  when  some  plain  truth 
is  being  spoken,  "That  certainly  hits  Jones  pretty  hard," 
or  "Mrs.  Smith  must  surely  squirm  under  this"?  It  is 
so  much  easier  generously  to  pass  over  the  application  of 
a  truth  to  some  one  else  than  bravely  and  honestly  to 
apply  it  to  ourselves  that  this  selfish  habit  soon  becomes 
fixed. 

What  makes  the  mind  throw  off  truth  so  readily  is 
hearing  it  without  putting  it  into  practice.  If  we  listen 
again  and  again  to  truth  without  striving  to  practice  it, 
our  power  to  respond  to  it  steadily  diminishes.  Ruskiu 
says,  "Every  duty  we  omit  obscures  some  truth  we  might 
have  known."  William  James  makes  a  practical  comment 
when  he  says,  "Never  suffer  yourself  to  have  an  emotion 
without  expressing  it  afterward  in  some  active  way.*' 

The  greatest  need  of  a  vast  number  of  churchgoers  is 
not  more  spiritual  food,  but  more  spiritual  exercise.  When 
you  hear  a  strong  presentation  of  truth,  do  you  customarily 
try  to  find  a  way  of  practicing  it  ? 


32      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

The  Shallow  life 

Each  class  of  hearers  described  by  Jesus  is  an  advance 
on  the  one  before.  The  first  class  did  not  receive  the  seed 
at  all.  The  second,  like  the  shallow  soil,  opens  a  little. 
These  hearers  are  attracted  by  the  truth,  see  something  of 
its  value,  but  they  do  not  allow  it  to  root  deeply  enough. 
And  so,  because  they  are  shallow  rooted,  the  growth  is 
checked.  The  blazing  sun  soon  proves  how  superficial 
it  is,  for,  having  no  roots  to  nourish  life,  it  withers  as 
quickly  as  it  grew. 

Jesus  describes  here  the  large  number  of  people  who  have 
their  minds  open  to  the  truth,  but  keep  their  hearts  closed. 
They  welcome  the  truth  with  impulsive  joy,  but  when  it 
begins  to  cost  something  to  be  a  follower  of  Christ,  when 
it  means  foregoing  some  pleasure,  doing  some  hard  duty, 
facing  ridicule,  forfeiting  worldly  success,  their  devotion 
wanes.  The  truth  which  wins  the  approval  of  the  mind 
does  not  sink  into  the  heart  and  command  the  will.  It 
is  easy  enough  to  enjoy  eloquent  sermons,  to  pay  compli- 
ments to  the  Bible,  and  be  a  Christian  in  theory.  To 
make  a  persistent  daily  fight  for  character;  to  make  real 
in  our  lives  the  ideals  we  admire — that  is  another  matter. 
And  that  is  all  that  makes  our  profession  of  any  value 
whatever.  Without  that  daily  effort  our  religion  is  a 
scorched,  dried-up  plant. 

Notice  that  the  heat  which  caused  the  shallow-rooted 
plant  to  wither  would  have  caused  a  well-rooted  plant  to 
grow  all  the  more  strongly  and  vigorously.  It  is  just  as 
true  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  sphere  as  in  the  physical. 
The  same  kind  of  tribulations  and  persecutions  which  made 
the  apostle  Paul  even  more  determined  in  his  loyalty  to 
Christ  caused  others  to  renounce  their  Christian  profes- 
sion. The  same  persecutions  under  Nero  and  Diocletian 
which  made  some  Christians  gladly  give  their  lives  as 
martyrs  made  others  slip  back  into  paganism.  How  can 
"tribulation"  really  strengthen  a  man's  character? 

A  common  manifestation  of  the  shallow  life  is  seen  in 
the  flagging  enthusiasm  of  Christian  people  whose  active 
service  is  all  in  the  past.    They  used  to  be  active  workers ; 


THE  PAEABLE  OF  THE  SOWER  33 

they  used  to  teach  in  Sunday  school.    But  that  is  ancient 
history.    However  enthusiastic  they  once  were,  the  tide  has 
receded  and  the  rest  of  their  lives  is  bounded  by  the  shal-  ^ 
lows  and  miseries  of  a  chronic  lack  of  energy.     Some  one  |  . 
has  said  that  there  are  four  kinds  of  Christian  workers: ^7 
the  tired,  the  retired,  the  tiresome,  and  the  tireless.     The 
"tired"  and  "retired"  workers  are  familiar  examples  of 
this  second  class  of  hearers.     The  "problem  of  the  unem- 
ployed" in  Christian  service  is  one  of  the  hardest  in  ex- 
tending the  Kingdom.     Are  you  part  of  that  problem? 
Are  you  carried  or  do  you  lift  ? 

The  Crowded  Life 

The  soil  in  which  the  good  seed  was  choked  by  thorns 
represents  the  preoccupied  minds  and  hearts  in  which  the 
truth  never  brings  forth  its  full  fruits.  Too  many  things  / 
are  growing  in  the  soil ;  too  many  interests  have  a  place  in 
the  heart.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  diverted  from  the 
wheat  seed  and  goes  to  form  thorn  bushes.  | 

This  describes  a  familiar  condition  of  our  modern  life. 
Artemus  Ward  once  said  that  he  "tried  to  do  too  much 
and  succeeded."  A  great  many  are  doing  the  same  thing. 
They  have  so  much  on  their  minds  and  hearts  that  the  in- 
fluences of  God  are  crowded  out.  The  rush  and  movement 
of  present-day  life,  teeming  with  a  multitude  of  interests 
and  responsibilities,  accompanied  by  an  increasing  diversity 
of  pleasures  and  a  wide  variety  of  appeals  to  the  sense  and 
mind,  form  a  soil  where  the  growing  religious  life  is 
strangled  for  lack  of  room.  If  our  religious  life  is  to 
grow  at  all,  it  must  grow  by  our  making  room  for  it 
among  these  very  things.  Hence  the  timeliness  of  the 
warning  of  this  parable,  Avhich  clearly  calls  to  each  of  us 
— "Keep  room  for  God." 

When  Jesus  specifies  the  kind  of  weeds  that  crowd  out  / 
the  truth,  he  mentions  two  things,  cares  and  riches.  The 
danger  of  the  crowded  life  does  not  lie  alone  with  the  rich ; 
nor  even  with  the  poor.  People  who  have  neither  poverty 
nor  wealth  face  the  time-consuming  cares  which  threaten 
to  strangle  the  religious  life  just  as  truly.  Which  is  the 
more  dangerous  to  the  religious  life,  poverty  or  wealth  ? 


34      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

Notice  that  "thorns"  stand  for  any  kind  of  weeds  which 
will  choke  out  the  desired  crop.  They  may  be  good  in 
themselves,  but  "corn  is  a  weed  if  it  grows  in  a  wheat 
field"  (Hubbard).  "The  good  is  often  the  enemy  of  the 
best.'*  Think  how  so  good  a  thing  as  devotion  to  business 
may  crowd  out  human  sympathy  and  fellowship. 

Such  a  thing  as  healthy  recreation  on  Sunday,  for  in- 
stance, good  in  itself,  may  crowd  out  worship  and  make  a 
whole  life  immeasurably  poorer  and  weaker.  Do  we  not 
usually  approach  the  whole  vexed  question  of  amusements 
from  the  wrong  angle?  Men  ask  whether  this  particular 
thing  is  allowable  or  consistent,  whether  this  pleasure  is 
permitted  or  that  gain  defensible.  Is  not  the  real  question, 
after  all,  not  whether  the  particular  act  is  wicked,  but 
whether  it  dulls  the  edge  of  our  interest  in  higher  things 
and  causes  the  spiritual  life  to  lose  its  zest  and  joy  and 
warm  fervor  ? 

The  Fruitful  Life 

When  we  study  the  soil  in  which  the  seed  sprang  up  and 
bore  abundant  fruit,  we  learn  how  the  evil  conditions  in 
the  other  three  kinds  of  soil  may  be  overcome  and  our  own 
lives  made  fruitful.  Jesus  explains  the  secret  of  fruitful 
hearing  in  the  words,  "These  are  such  as  in  an  honest  and 
good  heart,  having  heard  the  word,  hold  it  fast,  and  bring 
forth  fruit  with  patience."  Jesus  here  emphasizes  three 
qualities  as  necessary  to  fruitfulness  of  hearing:  sincerity, 
meditation,  and  patience. 

Sincerity.  "An  honest  heart"  means  a  preparedness  to 
receive  the  truth,  free  from  prejudices.  We  must  not  listen 
to  the  gospel  with  minds  already  made  up  or  refuse  to 
listen  when  it  brings  some  unflattering  truth  home  to  us. 
An  honest  heart  means  a  willingness  to  follow  the  truth 
even  when  that  involves  changing  our  conduct.  An  open 
mind  does  not  mean  absence  of  conviction.  Many  people 
talk  in  a  boasting  way  about  having  an  open  mind  when 
all  they  have  is  an  empty  head.  What  is  the  difference 
hetween  the  two? 

Meditation.  "Such  as  .  .  .,  having  heard  the  word, 
hold  it  fast."     The  Kingdom  to-day  greatly  needs  men 


THE  PAEABLE  OF  THE  SOWER  85 

who  will  think  over  the  Word  of  God  till  it  becomes  a  part 
of  them.  Emerson  says  that  the  hardest  task  in  the  world 
is  to  think.  One  might  almost  be  tempted  to  say  also  that  it 
is  the  rarest  thing  in  the  world.  "It  is  not  the  amount  of 
knowledge  you  have,  but  the  use  you  put  it  to, — it  is  not  the 
number  of  good  sayings  you  have  heard  and  can  repeat  that 
will  profit  you,  but  the  place  in  your  hearts  you  have  given 
them  and  the  connection  they  have  with  the  motives,  prin- 
ciples, and  ruling  ideas  of  your  life"  (Dods).  Meditation 
must  not  be  confused  with  a  lazy,  hazy  kind  of  day-dream- 
ing or  reverie.  That  leads  to  weakening  of  the  mind  and 
will.  Meditation  is  the  hard  thinking  by  which  truth  is 
tied  up  closely  to  practical  life.  Why  is  it  becoming  a 
lost  art?  What  forces  in  present  day  life  are  hostile  to 
it?    What  means  may  be  employed  to  keep  it? 

Patience.  This  too  is  an  active  rather  than  a  passive 
virtue.  It  means  perseverance  in  the  face  of  discourage- 
ment. Its  symbol  is  not  folded  hands,  but  rather  the 
clenched  hands  of  the  farmer  on  the  handles  of  the  plow. 
He  looks  down  the  long  furrows  with  courageous  perse- 
verance for  his  task,  willing  to  work  and  wait,  because 
he  has  faith  in  the  seed  and  soil. 

The  Unexpected  Yield  of  Good  Soil 

In  the  seed  in  good  ground  bringing  forth  thirty,  sixty, 
and  a  hundredfold,  Jesus  asserts  the  abundant  returns  of 
the  spiritual  world.  If  we  keep  our  hearts  open  and  recep- 
tive, the  truth  which  comes  into  them  will  bring  forth 
unexpected  fruit  in  personal  growth  and  increasing  strength 
of  character  and-  influence.  Into  each  life  which  is  kept 
teachable  and  hospitable  to  the  truth  Christ  continually 
comes  that  we  may  have  life  and  have  it  more  abundantly. 
The  rich  fullness  of  Christian  personality  with  its  un- 
exhausted capacity  for  joy  and  service  -is  a  growth,  sure 
and  unfailing,  if  the  life  is  only  open  to  the  seed  of  God's 
Word.  The  parable  holds  out  to  each  of  us  the  blessed 
encouragement  that  our  lives  may  become  that  marvelous 
garden  of  God  described  by  Paul :  ''The  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
is  love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  kindness,  goodness,  faith- 
fulness, meekness,  self-control." 


36      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

FoK  Reflection  and  Discussion 

Some  people  become  impervious  to  new  truth  because  their 
minds  have  become  set  and  hardened.  This  usually 
comes  after  middle  age,  but  sometimes  comes  earlier. 
What  habits  may  a  man  cultivate  to  help  him  keep  an 
open  mind  to  new  ideas? 

Are  the  impressions  made  by  the  sermon  on  Sunday  dis- 
sipated before  they  have  a  chance  to  sink  deep?  What 
is  the  reason?  What  effect  does  the  conversation  which 
follows  the  church  service  frequently  have?  What  is 
the  importance  of  quiet  and  order  in  the  Sunday  school  ? 

What  effect  does  a  critical  attitude  toward  the  sermon 
have  on  the  amount  of  good  we  get  out  of  it  ? 

How  would  you  answer  the  question  whether  it  is  wrong 
to  play  golf  on  Sunday  ? 

In  what  respects  were  the  Pharisees  wayside  hearers  of 
Jesus?    Why  are  riches  called  "deceitful"? 

What  are  the  present-day  forms  of  tribulation  and  persecu- 
tion most  dangerous?  Does  a  Christian  in  ordinary 
circumstances  ever  experience  persecution  in  these  days  ? 
How  about  some  of  the  ridicule  and  reputation  for  being 
"queer^'  which  will  meet  a  Christian  in  many  quarters? 
What  have  you  found  to  be  the  hardest  things  about 
Christian  discipleship  ?  Has  it  ever  really  cost  you  any- 
thing to  be  a  Christian,  in  business,  in  social  life  ?  How 
much? 

One  valuable  means  of  cultivating  the  religious  life  is  the 
custom  of  family  worship.  If  it  has  been  crowded  out 
of  your  home,  what  is  the  reason?  Where  the  members 
of  a  family  leave  home  at  different  times,  what  can  be 
done  to  keep  the  values  which  were  gained  from  morn- 
ing family  worship? 

Why  does  some  good  soil  bring  forth  one  hundredfold  while 
others  bring  forth  only  thirtyf old  ?  To  what  may  these 
differences  refer  in  the  realm  of  character?  What  light 
does  the  Parable  of  the  Talents  throw  on  this  ? 


CHAPTER   IV 
THE  TWO  FOUNDATIONS 

Matthew  7.  24-27 

"Now,  everyone  who  listens  to  these  words  of  mine  and 
acts  upon  them  will  be  like  a  sensible  man  who  built  his  house 
on  rock.  The  rain  came  down,  the  floods  rose,  the  winds  blew 
and  beat  upon  that  house,  but  it  did  not  fall,  for  it  was  founded 
on  rock.  And  everyone  who  listens  to  these  words  of  mine 
and  does  not  act  upon  them  will  be  like  a  stupid  man  who 
built  his  house  on  sand.  The  rain  came  down,  the  floods  rose, 
the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  down  it  fell— 
with  a  mighty  crash." 

When  Jesus  finished  his  speech,  the  crowds  were  astounded 
at  his  teaching;  for  he  taught  them  like  an  authority,  not  like 
their  own  scribes. 


The  Last  Nail 

The  Parable  of  the  Two  Foundations  is  the  concluding 
appeal  of  the  most  important  sermon  ever  delivered.  It 
is  the  last  nail  with  which  the  truth  is  driven  home  to  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  those  who  listened  to  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  speech  which  could 
be  packed  into  three  verses  of  greater  force  than  this  in- 
delible picture  of  the  two  builders.  It  takes  that  little 
word  "do"  and  hurls  it  at  us  till  it  stings — "and  doeth 
them."  The  truth  which  Jesus  spoke  was  to  be  completed 
in  action;  and,  until  a  man  works  out  the  truth  in  life, 
be  it  even  such  incomparable  and  matchless  truth  as  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  it  is  utterly  worthless  to  him.  Un- 
less the  truth  of  "these  words  of  mine,"  Jesus  declares,  finds 
constant  expression  in  daily  life,  the  man  who  hears  it  will 
be  just  as  helpless  when  life's  real  tests  come,  as  a  house 
set  on  the  sand  is  in  the  teeth  of  a  hurricane.    "Therefore" 

37 


38      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

— the  conclusion  is  as  clear  as  the  noonday  sunlight — "do 
them." 

Jesus  never  left  truth  hanging  in  the  air  as  something 
remote  from  life,  an  abstract  principle  to  which  mild  assent 
should  be  given.  He  was  a  model  preacher  in  that  he  never 
considered  a  sermon  finished  until  it  was  expressed  in  life 
and  action.  Have  you  ever  heard  the  expression  a  "finished 
sermon^'?  What  light  does  this  parable  throw  on  what 
a  "finished  sermon"  ought  to  be?  It  does  not  take  a  vast 
amount  of  experience  or  observation  to  convince  us  that 
the  great  emphasis  which  Jesus  gave  to  this  necessity  for 
action  was  well  justified.  Charts  of  exercise  never  made 
an  athlete.  Books  on  food  never  gave  nourishment.  Nor 
did  sermons  on  righteousness  ever  make  a  saint.  Charts, 
books,  and  sermons  are  useful  for  their  purpose  just  in  so 
far  as  they  inspire  and  direct  actual  deeds. 

Talk  no  Substitute  fob  Deeds  ! 

This  message  is  always  necessary  and  timely  because 
fine  words  are  continually  deceitful.  We  are  likely  to  hear 
and  talk  about  fine  actions  so  much  that  we  unconsciously 
come  to  think  in  a  vague  way  that  we  have  done  them. 
Mark  Twain  says  that  if  a  man  tells  a  story  often  enough, 
he  will  come  to  believe  it.  It  is  due  to  the  same  mental 
process  that  a  clerk  at  the  information  desk  of  a  railroad 
station  has  the  feeling  that  he  has  actually  been  in  the  dif- 
ferent cities  and  places,  about  which  he  has  been  supplying 
information  every  day  for  years.  In  both  cases  talk  comes 
to  be  an  acceptable  substitute  for  real  deeds.  It  is  easy 
to  listen ;  it  is  hard  to  do.  To  hear  Jesus*  sayings  does  not 
involve  getting  out  of  the  easy  chair  of  lazy  self-satisfac- 
tion; to  do  them  requires  straightening  all  our  moral 
muscles  for  action. 

In  Jesus'  judgment,  there  can  be  no  substitute  for  "do- 
ing.** The  world  awards  its  applause  differently.  Masters  of 
literature  win  its  coveted  verdict  "Well  said  1"  To  the  phi- 
losopher is  awarded  the  commendation — "Well  thought!" 
But  fine  speech  and  fine  thought  are  not  in  themselves 
sufficient  to  win  the  approval  of  Jesus.  They  must  express 
themselves  in  fine  living.    The  approving  verdict  of  Jesus 


THE  TWO  FOUNDATIONS  39 

is  reserved  for  those  to  whom  he  can  say  "Well  done!" 
Which  more  accurately  represents  your  attitude  to  the 
gospel,  your  thoughts  or  your  acts?    Why? 

A  House  on  a  Eock 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  thing  which  is  com- 
pared to  a  rock  foundation  for  a  house  is  the  doing  of  the 
teachings  of  Christ,  as  opposed  to  the  mere  hearing  of  them. 
The  contrast  is  not  drawn  between  the  man  who  makes 
Christ  and  his  teachings  the  foundation  of  his  life  and  the 
man  who  builds  on  something  else.  The  contrast  is  be- 
tween the  hearer  who  hears  and  does  and  the  one  who 
merely  hears.  One  house  rests  on  the  rock  of  acts  per- 
formed ;  the  other  on  the  sand  of  things  merely  heard. 

Do  these  pictures,  drawn  by  Jesus,  correspond  to  the 
facts  of  life  as  you  know  it?  What  makes  the  picture 
true?  ^Simply  the  fact  that  a  strong  character  is  largely 
the  result  of  right  habits  and  that  right  habits  are  estab- 
lished by  action  upon  right  impulses  and  principles.  /  The 
rain  and  floods  and  the  winds  which  assail  the  house  in 
the  parable  represent  those  testing  experiences  and  emergen- 
cies which  can  only  be  met  successfully  by  that  inner 
strength  which  has  been  created  by  action.  The  fire  gong 
rings  in  a  public  school.  The  lives  of  a  thousand  children 
are  in  danger.  Will  the  fire  gong  be  the  announcement  of 
a  terrible  tragedy?  It  all  depends  on  the  training  which 
the  children  have  had  whether  instinctive  responses  and 
habits  which  can  be  trusted  to  carry  them  through  the 
crisis,  have  been  built  up  within  them  by  action. 

In  the  same  way,  the  question  whether  severe  tests  in 
the  realm  of  character  are  to  be  met  successfully  is  decided 
by  the  amount  of  will  power  which  has  been  created  by  the 
habit  of  daily  obedience.  The  following  sentences  from 
the  famous  chapter  on  ^'Habit"  by  William  James  in  his 
Psychology,  form  one  of  the  strongest  commentaries  on  this 
parable  ever  made.  Read  them  carefully,  with  this  parable 
in  mind.  f'No  matter  how  full  a  reservoir  of  maxims  one 
may  possess,  and  no  matter  how  good  one's  sentiments 
may  be,  if  one  has  not  taken  advantage  of  every  concrete 
opportunity  to  act,  one's  character  may  remain  entirely 


40      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

unaffected  for  the  better.  jWith  mere  good  intentions  hell 
is  proverbially  paved.  And  this  is  an  obvious  consequence 
of  the  principles  we  have  laid  down.  A  'character/  as 
J.  S.  Mill  says,  'is  a  completely  fashioned  wilF ;  and  a  will, 
in  the  sense  in  which  he  means  it,  is  an  aggregate  of  ten- 
dencies to  act  in  a  firm  and  prompt  and  definite  way  upon 
all  the  principal  emergencies  of  life.  A  tendency  to  act 
only  becomes  effectively  ingrained  in  us  in  proportion  to 
the  uninterrupted  frequency  with  which  the  actions  actually 
occur,  and  the  brain  'grows'  to  their  use.  When  a  resolve 
or  a  fine  glow  of  feeling  is  allowed  to  evaporate  without 
bearing  practical  fruit  it  is  worse  than  a  chance  lost;  it 
works  so  as  positively  to  hinder  future  resolutions  and 
emotions.*'^ 

Mobilizing  the  Will  in  Emergencies 

Apply  this  comment  of  James  to  the  case  of  a  business 
man,  for  example,  who  is  tempted  to  take  a  "short  cuf * 
to  make  some  "easy  money^'  in  a  way  not  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law.  What  is  going  to  determine  whether 
the  man  goes  down  in  that  flood  of  temptation  or  not? 
Many  things  enter  into  it,  but  the  largest  factor  is  his 
habit  of  daily  action  or  inaction  on  the  truth  as  he  knows 
it.  What  light  does  this  throw  on  the  importance  of  daily 
decisions  even  on  small  matters? 

The  same  things  determine  a  man's  ability  to  meet  other 
trials  and  emergencies,  disappointment  and  failure,  sick- 
ness and  bereavement.  George  MacDonald's  couplet  has 
truly  described  the  history  of  thousands  of  persons : 

"There  came  a  mist  and  a  blinding  rain, 
And  life  was  never  the  same  again." 

Some  great  loss  comes  and  a  man's  courage  and,  in  some 
cases,  his  kindliness  is  swept  away  in  the  flood.  Others 
meet  the  shock  of  afflictions  and  losses  without  giving  way 
to  bitterness  or  allowing  the  outcome  of  their  lives  to  be 
spoiled.    The  actual  practice  of  truth  every  day  has  made 


1  James,  Peyohology,  Briefer  Comae,  pp.  147,  148. 


THE  TWO  FOUNDATIONS  41 

it  such  a  reality  in  their  lives  that  it  is  a  rock  foundation 
in  time  of  storm. 

Consider  Lincoln's  victory  over  temptation  in  the  light  of 
the  scrupulous  honesty  of  all  his  previous  years.  TWhen 
urged  to  do  certain  things  in  order  to  insure  his  election 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  he  answered  in  words  that 
well  deserve  a  place  in  the  memory  of  every  man  and 
woman,  boy  and  girl :  "I  am  not  bound  to  be  elected,  but 
1  am  bound  to  be  true."  Honor  had  been  so  deeply  in- 
grained into  his  nature  by  years  of  honest  living  that  his 
character  was  an  unmovable  rock.  When  Martin  Luther's 
opponents  were  seeking  to  frighten  him  out  of  his  position, 
they  told  him  that  the  princes  of  Germany  would  not  rally 
to  his  support.  They  asked  him,  "Where  will  you  be 
then?"  "Eight  where  I  am  now,"  Luther  replied  calmly, 
"in  the  hands  of  Almighty  God."  A  real  faith  had  made 
God  so  much  of  a  reality  to  him  that  he  was  able  to  meet 
the  crisis  without  fear.     > 

What  experiences  test  most  severely  the  genuineness  of  a 
man's  religion? 

The  House  on  the  Sand 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  drawing  the  picture  of 
the  man  who  built  a  house  on  the  sand  Jesus  did  not  have 
in  mind  the  maKcious,  but  the  thoughtless — a  much  larger 
class.  The  man  who  listens  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  but 
who  allows  them  no  real  control  over  his  actions  is  the  one 
who  has  no  foundation  to  his  character.  He  can  no  more 
resist  the  swirl  of  the  severe  temptations  and  trials  of  life 
than  a  squatter's  shanty  along  the  Mississippi  Kiver  bot- 
toms can  resist  the  onset  of  the  spring  floods. 

Jesus  is  describing  a  large  class  of  people  here  and  the 
solemn  warning  with  which  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and 
this  particular  parable  end,  have  a  close  application  to  the 
everyday  life  of  every  man.  It  is  as  direct  as  the  pointed 
index  jSnger.  Suppose  some  one  had  come  to  Jesus,  as  he 
went  down  the  mount  after  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  had 
been  delivered,  and  had  said  with  great  enthusiasm,  "I 
enjoyed  your  sermon  very  much  this  morning.  Master!" 
What  would  Jesus  have  said  ?    What  kind  of  a  look  would 


42      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

he  have  given  the  one  who  vrould  give  him  such  a  compli- 
ment? We  do  not  need  to  guess  what  his  answer  would 
have  been,  for  this  parable  is  the  answer  to  just  such  a 
situation.  We  know  what  he  said  when  some  one  sought 
to  parry  the  personal  thrust  of  his  truth  by  an 'empty 
exclamation.  After  Jesus  had  been  speaking  of  duties  to 
the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  blind,  one  of  the  hearers  ex- 
claims, gushingly,  "Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in 
the  kingdom  of  God."  Jesus  turned  immediately  and  set 
forth  the  cost  of  discipleship  (Luke  14.  15-35).  He  will 
not  allow  his  demand  for  obedience  to  be  lost  in  sentimen- 
tality. 

Popular  Substitutes  for  Action 

One  very  popular  substitute  for  following  the  teaching? 
of  Jesus  is  to  admire  them.  It  is  popular  because  it  is 
so  much  easier.  It  is  always  in  good  taste  to  admire  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  costs  nothing.  Admiration  of  this  kind  is 
worth  just  what  it  costs.  Several  years  ago  a  plow  was 
sent  over  to  Africa  and  fell  into  the  possession  of  a  tribe 
of  natives  in  the  interior  of  the  continent.  Not  knowing 
what  else  to  do  with  it  they  set  it  up  on  a  pedestal  and 
worshiped  it.  The  plow  was  designed  to  strike  down  deep 
into  the  soil  and  prepare  it  to  produce  fruit.  To  be  set 
up  for  admiring  worship  was  a  perversion  of  its  purpose. 
So  the  purpose  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  is  to  plow  down  deep 
into  men's  lives  and  make  them  fruitful  in  the  largest 
sense.  It  is  a  poor  substitute  for  this  to  pay  to  the  gospel 
a  few  cheap  and  easy  and  empt}-^  compliments.  Dr. 
Crothers  compares  the  difference  which  frequently  exists 
between  the  principles  people  admire  and  those  they  use 
to  two  pokers  for  the  fireplace.  The  fine  brass  poker  in 
a  polished  stand  is  to  be  looked  at.  When  we  really  have 
to  do  anything  to  the  fire  we  get  out  a  dingy  little  black 
poker  which  stands  somewhere  out  of  sight.  So  we  keep 
in  public  view,  he  says,  the  beautiful  principles  we  admire 
and  supposedly  believe.  But  when  we  really  have  to  do 
anything,  we  follow  some  much  less  attractive  principle  of 
action  which  we  keep  out  of  sight.  Thus  "Love  your 
enemies"  is  the  principle  we  believe  in  publicly.    "Get  even 


THE  TWO  FOUNDATIONS  43 

with  them,"  is  the  principle  we  privately  follow.  Does  this 
describe  any  similar  condition  in  your  life?  In  what 
respect  ? 

Another  substitute  for  doing  the  truth  is  to  discuss  it. 
Thus  many  people  who  have  very  pronounced  and  emphatic 
views  about  particular  doctrines  of  Christianity  do  not 
show  very  pronounced  or  emphatic  Christian  character. 
The  danger  of  expending  itself  in  talk  is  one  of  the  most 
insidious  perils  which  our  religion  has  to  meet.  A  whole 
church  may  come  to  regard  the  hearing  of  two  excellent 
sermons  a  week  as  its  chief  end  in  life.  A  Bible  class 
nuiy  discuss  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  and  let  the  matter 
end  there.  What  is  your  class  doing  to  avoid  this  danger  ? 
What  else  should  a  Bible  class  do  ? 

As  another  substitute  for  becoming  real  disciples  of 
Jesus,  many  people  wish  the  church  well.  They  patronize 
it  with  a  few  kind  words.  They  say:  "Of  course  I  sym- 
pathize with  the  church.  I  won't  join  it  nor  attend  it 
regularly,  but  Fll  give  it  a  little  money  to  support  it,  and 
I  want  my  children  to  go  to  Sunday  school.  I  think  there 
ought  to  be  a  church  in  the  community."  Would  there 
ever  be  a  church  anywhere  if  everyone  took  that  attitude  ? 
Has  that  ever  been  your  attitude  ?    Is  it  now  ? 

"He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear,"  was  one  of  the  favorite 
sayings  of  Jesus.  It  singles  us  out  of  the  crowd  and  says, 
"I  mean  you !"  It  presses  home  the  question,  "Where  do 
you  live,  on  the  rock  or  on  the  sand?"  We  cannot  tell 
about  others.  We  have  our  opinions,  no  doubt,  and  too 
often  form  judgments  on  insufficient  evidence.  But  we 
ought  to  know  about  ourselves.  Are  we  satisfied  with 
merely  hearing  the  truth  or  have  we  formed  the  habit  of 
acting  on  it  ? 

For  Eeflection  and  Discussion' 

What  light  does  this  parable  throw  on  the  importance  of 

habit  formation  ?    Which  is  the  harder  task,  to  establish 

a  good  habit  or  to  break  off  a  bad  one  ? 
Wliich  has  had  the  greater  emphasis  in  religious  education, 

the  imparting  of  information  and  precept  or  training  in 

action  ? 


44      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

What  is  the  effect  of  action  on  truth  which  has  been 

studied  ? 
What  have  been  the  hardest  temptations  you  have  had  to 

meet? 
App^y  this  parable  to  national  life.    What  are  some  of  the 

dangers  which  threaten  a  nation's  strength  and  pros- 
perity?    How  does  a  Christian  foundation  of  national 

life  equip  it  to  meet  them  ? 
What  are  the  particular  or  peculiar  tests  of  character  in 

youth  ?    In  middle-age  ? 
Can   a   person   receive   too   much   religious   exhortation  ? 

Under  what  conditions  ? 
What  experiences  have  been  the  most  frequent  causes  of 

the  breakdown  of  religious  life  and  the  deterioration  of 

character  ? 
Our  coins  bear  the  inscription,  "In  God  we  trust."     To 

what  extent  is  our  government  founded  on  Christian 

principles  ?    Our  economic  system  ? 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE. 

THE  HIDDEN  TREASURE 

Matthew  13.  44-46 

"The  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  treasure  hidden  In  a  field; 
the  man  who  finds  it  hides  it  and  in  his  delight  goes  and 
sells  all  he  possesses  and  buys  that  field. 

Again,  the  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  a  trader  in  search  of 
fine  pearls;  when  he  finds  a  single  pearl  of  high  price,  he 
is  off  to  sell  all  he  possesses  and  buy  it." 


The  Inner  Kingdom 

There  is  an  Oriental  fairy  story  of  a  tent  made  of 
material  so  delicate  that  it  could  be  folded  up  and  easily 
contained  in  the  palm  of  a  man's  hand;  yet  when  it  was 
unrolled  and  set  up  it  would  afford  shelter  for  an  army  of 
thousands  of  men.  In  somewhat  the  same  manner  the  con- 
ception of  the  kingdom  of  God  seems  to  expand  or  con- 
tract as  Jesus  uses  it.  Sometimes  it  seems  to  he  the  pos- 
session of  one  man.  At  other  times  it  takes  in  coimtless 
millions  in  its  embrace.  It  is  both  a  personal  good  in 
individual  life  and  a  social  order  for  the  race.  It  is  too 
inclusive  an  ideal  to  be  brought  into  the  limits  of  a  defi- 
nition. The  phrase  "the  kingdom  of  God"  cannot  be 
understood  apart  from  Jesus'  life  and  character.  In  all 
its  different  manifestations  it  is  an  order  of  life  in  this 
present  world  which  corresponds  to  the  ideals  and  charac- 
ter of  Jesus.  All  that  Jesus  had  to  say  about  the  way  men 
ought  to  live  must  be  included  in  our  idea  of  what  the 
kingdom  of  God  is.  It  is  the  reign  of  God  in  the  heart 
and  consequently  in  the  organized  life  of  men. 

In  some  of  tJiie  parables  Jesus  seems  to  emphasize  the 

45 


46      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

Kingdom  as  an  outward  growth,  a  social  ideal  of  growing 
sway.  The  Mustard  Seed  and  the  Leaven  are  two  parables 
with  this  emphasis.  The  Parables  of  the  Treasure  and  of 
the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  emphasize  rather  the  Kingdom  as 
a  personal  inward  possession. 

The  Noblest  Quest 

When  Jesus  likens  the  Kingdom  to  buried  treasure  he 
strikes  a  theme  which  has  always  had  a  romantic  interest. 
There  is  hardly  a  man  who  has  grown  up  along  the  At- 
lantic coast  of  the  United  States  who  has  not  as  a  boy 
gone  out  to  discover  and  dig  up  the  buried  gold  of  Captain 
Kidd.  Many  of  the  best-loved  stories  of  youth  have  had 
the  search  or  finding  of  buried  treasure  as  their  theme, 
such  as  Stevenson's  Treasure  Island  and  Poe's  The  Gold 
Bug.  But  while  the  finding  of  buried  treasure  still  pos- 
sesses for  our  time  an  unfailing  romantic  interest,  it  is 
something  which  rarely  happens.  In  Palestine  in  the  time 
of  Christ  it  happened  often.  The  reason,  of  course,  was 
that  there  were  no  banks  and  one  of  the  common  ways  of 
securing  comparative  safety  for  one's  treasure  was  to  bury 
it  in  a  field  where  its  location  would  be  unknown.  It 
frequently  happened  that  a  person  would  die  without  re- 
vealing the  place  in  which  his  property  was  buried.  Such 
treasure  would  be  accidentally  discovered  in  time  in  most 
cases,  and  it  is  to  the  accidental  discovery  of  the  treasure 
that  Jesus  compares  the  finding  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  main  point  is  that  the  Kingdom  is  richer  treasure, 
the  finding  of  which  should  bring  "a  far  deeper  thrill  of 
joy  than  the  upturning  of  buried  gold  ever  brought. 

The  other  comparison  which  Jesus  makes  has  just  as 
much  warm  human  interest  in  it.  The  lure  of  a  great  and 
famous  jewel  has  always  exercised  a  sii1)tle  fascination  on 
men's  minds.  Men  have  searched  and  toiled  for  a  life- 
time in  the  hope  of  making  the  discovery  of  a  jewel  that 
would  make  them  forever  rich.  One  of  the  world's  famous 
jewels,  a  diamond  known  as  the  "Star  of  South  Africa," 
was  accidentally  found  by  a  shepherd  boy  on  a  South 
African  farm.  A  trader  in  Hopetown,  Van  Niekirk,  heard 
of  the  unusual  stone  and  made  a  hurried  trip  to  the  spot 


THE  PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE      47 

and  bought  the  stone  from  the  boy  for  five  hundred  sheep, 
ten  oxen,  and  a  horse.  It  was  found  to  be  a  diamond  eighty- 
three  and  a  half  carats  in  weight.  A  few  weeks  later  Van 
Niekirk  sold  the  jewel  to  a  Hopetown  firm  for  fifty-six 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  later  sold  in  London  for  several 
times  that  amount.  It  is  to  the  winning  of  an  unsurpassed 
jewel  of  fabulous  worth  that  Jesus  compares  the  winning 
of  the  Kingdom.  Great  as  have  been  the  fortunes  won 
by  seekers  of  rare  jewels,  the  man  who  sets  out  to  realize 
the  kingdom  of  God  in  himself  is  on  the  nobler  quest  of 
a  far  richer  prize. 

What  Is  the  Highest  Good? 

One  of  the  most  discussed  questions  of  the  ancient  world 
was  this :  "What  is  the  highest  good  ?"  Answers  to  it  are 
as  eagerly  sought  in  the  modern  world  to-day.  A  man's 
response  to  that  question  is  the  keystone  of  his  moral  sys- 
tem. By  the  depth  and  insight  of  his  answer  his  philoso- 
phy of  life  is  judged.  But  it  is  not  only  a  question  of 
philosophy.  It  is  an  intensely  practical  question  of  per- 
sonal life.  It  comes  to  us  in  this  form,  "What  is  the  best 
thing  in  life  which  I  can  get  ?  What  is  there  which,  if  won, 
will  make  life  a  success ;  and,  if  lost,  will  make  it  a 
failure  ?" 

The  answers  to  the  question  have  been  many.  According 
to  some  the  highest  good  in  life  is  pleasure.  That  was 
the  answer  of  the  Epicurean  philosophy  of  Greece  and  is 
the  practical  answer  of  vast  numbers  who  make  pleasure 
the  ruling  passion  of  their  lives.  To  others  it  has  been 
power.  One  of  the  reasons  why  Napoleon  has  exercised 
such  a  sway  over  the  imagination  of  millions  of  men  is 
that  his  career  embodied  the  ideal  of  power  which  they 
secretly  worship.  To  others  wealth  is  the  highest  good. 
Not  many  would  admit  that  they  considered  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  the  chief  end  in  life.  But  they  show  their  real 
belief  by  the  fact  that  they  devote  their  energies  to  its 
pursuit.  Fame  appears  to  some  the  highest  good  of  all, 
sometimes  as  an  ignoble  desire  for  public  notice ;  sometimes 
as  a  far  higher  and  more  worthy  ambition,  to  make  one's 
name  immortal. 


48      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

Jesus'  Answee — "The  Kingdom  of  God" 

The  parables  of  the  Hidden  Treasure  and  the  Pearl  of 
Great  Price  are  Jesus'  direct  answer  to  tliis  question.  The 
Kingdom  of  God  is  the  treasure  worth  all  else,  the  pearl 
without  a  peer.  The  phrase  "the  kingdom  of  God,"  or 
"kingdom  of  Heaven,"  to  use  Matthew's  translation,  was 
one  of  large  meaning  to  Jesus.  It  means  the  "Eeign  of 
God"  and  the  reign  of  love  in  the  life  of  the  individual  and 
of  society.  That  is  made  clear  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  where 
the  petition  "Thy  kingdom  come"  is  expanded  by  adding, 
'"Thy  will  be  done."  In  other  words,  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  present  wherever  God's  rule  is  recognized,  wher- 
ever God's  will  is  done.  Eor  us  to  have  the  reign  of  God 
in  our  lives  means  that  we  have  the  relationship  of  loyal 
and  loving  sonship  to  God  which  Jesus  has  shown  to  be 
possible  for  us;  it  means  that  we  are  winning  a  character 
patterned  after  his  own  ideal;  it  means  that  we  hold  as 
our  own  Jesus'  purpose  of  making  love,  service,  and  brother- 
hood prevail  on  the  earth. 

This,  then,  is  the  greatest  prize  of  life,  according  to 
Jesus.  Was  he  right?  Is  there  any  way  of  discovering 
whether  he  was  right  or  not?  What  is  the  price  which 
must  be  paid  for  this  treasure  ?  Is  it  really  a  good  bargain, 
a  wise  investment,  or  is  the  price  too  high?  These  are 
plain  questions  which  crowd  on  us  for  an  answer. 

The  Value  of  Christian  Chaeacter 

The  kingdom  of  God  is  the  highest  good  possible  in  any 
life  because — 

(1)  It  satisfies  deeper  needs  of  life  than  anything  else 
can.  The  possession  of  Christian  character  does  not  affect 
what  a  man  has,  so  much  as  it  determines  what  a  man  is. 
A  man's  first  and  greatest  physical  need  is  the  need  for 
health,  for  physical  well-being.  Compared  to  that  inner  j 
possession,  all  externals,  be  they  ever  so  magnificent —  ^ 
clothing,  food,  houses  and  lands — are  trifling.  Character 
is  the  health  of  a  man's  soul.  Deeper  than  the  need  of 
things  is  the  need  of  a  self,  a  self  at  harmony  with  God 
and  sharing  his  great  purposes  in  filial  love  and  trust  and 


THE  PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE      49 

at  harmony  with  men  in  good  will  and  brotherhood.  Man^s 
deepest  need  is  expressed  in  the  cry : 

"O  for  the  man  to  arise  in  me 
That  the  man  I  am  may  cease  to  be!" 

Jesus'  gift  of  the  Kingdom  enables  a  new  man  to  arise, 
new  in  character  because  new  in  relationship  to  God,  just 
as  the  earth  takes  on  a  new  character  of  beauty  in  the 
spring  because  it  has  come  into  new  relationship  to  the 
sun. 

The  British  Weekly  a  few  years  ago  conducted  a  ques- 
tionnaire among  its  readers,  asking,  "What  are  the  tliing>* 
which  have  made  you  happy  or  unhappy?''  Hundreds  of 
different  things  were  mentioned  in  the  thousands  of  an- 
swers. But  they  had  this  striking  fact  in  common.  They 
ascribed  happiness  to  inner  conditions,  to  the  character 
and  state  of  the  heart  rather  than  to  things.  Love,  friend- 
ship, trust,  honor,  service — these  things  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  are  the  things  which  make  happiness.  Make  the 
same  test  of  the  truth  yourself :  What  are  the  things  which 
make  your  happiness? 

(2)  The  Kingdom  answers  to  man's  highest  aspiration, 
Man  is  more  than  animal.  All  the  altars  and  temples  of 
all  the  religions  of  the  world  are  eloquent  testimony  that 
man  is  a  spirit  who  reaches  out  after  God.  The  discovery 
of  God  the  Father  is  the  greatest  event  in  any  man's  life. 
It  completely  revolutionizes  life.  Christ  leads  men  to  that 
discovery.  There  have  been  high  moments  in  the  liistorj' 
of  the  race  when  some  man  has  made  a  great  discovery. 
We  think  of  xA.rchimedes  having  just  discovered  the  law  of 
specific  gravit}^,  rushing  down  the  street  crying,  '"Eureka ! 
Eureka !  I  have  found  it !"  We  think  of  Columbus  pacing 
the  deck  on  that  October  night  and  the  thrill  of  startled 
joy  which  must  have  come  to  him  as  he  saw  a  light  on  the 
distant  shore.  We  think  of  Newton  in  his  garden,  and  of 
the  wonder  that  must  have  taken  hold  of  him  as  the  con- 
ception of  the  law  of  gravitation  flashed  into  his  mind. 
But  it  is  a  greater  thrill  of  joy  which  comes  into  the  heart 
when  a  man  makes  the  discovery  of  God  in  Christ  and 
realizes  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  receive  God  into  his 


50   STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

life  and  establish  a  real  fellowship  with  him.  Some  one 
asked  Sir  James  Simpson,  the  Edinburgh  scientist,  what 
he  considered  his  greatest  discovery.  He  replied  with  great 
simplicity  and  humility,  "The  discovery  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
my  Saviour." 

(3)  The  Kingdom  is  not  only  a  treasure  of  infinitely  finer 
quality  but  of  iniinitely  longer  duration.  External  pos- 
sessions come  and  go.  All  the  possession  a  man  can  be  sure 
of  is  what  he  has  made  of  himself.  Every  one  must  expect 
the  latter  half  of  life  to  take  on  a  dwindling  character  in 
some  respects.  The  satisfactions  of  appetite  become  less 
and  less.  Strength  decreases.  Friends  slip  away.  Unless 
one  can  say,  as  only  a  Christian  can  say,  "My  mind  to  me 
a  kingdom  is,"  old  age  or  misfortune  and  loss  of  property 
become  bitter  tragedies.  But  the  Kingdom  is  eternal  treas- 
ure. When  we  become  members  of  the  Kingdom,  we  enter 
here  and  now  on  eternal  life.  All  earthly  treasure  slips 
from  the  nerveless  hands  of  its  owner  when  liis  last  breath 
is  drawn.  But  the  one  who  has  realized  in  himself  the 
Christian  ideal  of  life  has  treasure  laid  up  where  no  thief, 
not  even  death,  breaks  through  and  steals.  Death  brings 
only  a  new  dividend  on  his  investment.  It  is  incorruptible, 
undefiled,  and,  even  when  all  else  disappears  and  the  soul 
stands  alone,  it  fades  not  away. 

The  Cost  of  the  Best 

"It  does  not  take  much  of  a  man  to  be  a  Christian," 
>ome  one  has  truly  said,  "but  it  takes  all  there  is  of  him." 
That  is  just  the  truth  which  these  parables  hold.  The 
lost  of  the  best  is  all  that  a  man  has.  On  no  other  point 
was  Jesus  more  explicit  or  more  emphatic  than  that  the 
Kingdom  demands  sacrifice.  "If  any  man  cometh  unto 
me,  and  hateth  not  his  own  father,  and  mother,  and  wife, 
aud  children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple"  (Luke  14.  26).  "If 
any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me"  (Matt.  16.  24).  "If 
thy  right  eye  causeth  thee  to  stumble,  pluck  it  out,  and 
cast  it  from  thee"  (Matt.  5.  29).  These  are  hard  sayings. 
Jesus  repeats  them  again  and  again.     He  portrays  the 


THE  PEARL  OF  GEEAT  PRICE      51 

Kingdom  as  earth's  best  investment  but  never  once  an- 
nounces that  the  price  is  low.    It  demands  all. 

To  be  sure,  the  Kingdom  is  a  gift.  That  truth,  recovered  ■ 
from  oblivion  by  the  Reformation,  must  never  be  allowed 
to  become  dim.  But  when  we  consider  the  Kingdom  as 
the  rule  of  God,  either  in  one  life  or  in  the  wide  relation- 
ship of  all  men,  it  is  both  a  gift  and  a  task.  It  is  the  gift 
of  an  opportunity  which  we  must  make  a  reality  by  sacrifice 
and  toil.  It  is  like  receiving  a  present  of  a  farm.  It  is 
a  gift  of  great  value,  but  without  our  toil  and  sacrifice  it 
produces  absolutely  nothing.  So  the  free  gift  of  God,  his 
Kingdom,  produces  blessing  when  we  "buy  up  the  oppor- 
tunity" with  sacrifice  and  toil. 

Why  should  it  not  be  so?  Is  not  the  price  of  highest 
achievement  in  any  department  of  life  the  giving  of  our 
best  and  all  of  it?  Let  Goodyear  answer  for  the  noble 
company  of  inventors.  He  experimented  for  weary  years 
with  the  process  of  making  rubber  before  he  perfected  it, 
putting  every  penny  he  had  or  could  raise  into  it,  living 
often  in  hunger  and  selling  even  his  children's  school- 
books  and  shoes,  because  it  was  worth  all  to  him  to  win 
the  secret.  In  another  field  Gibbon  worked  for  twenty  years 
on  his  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  gave  the  toil  and  thought 
of  ten  years  to  tlie  painting  of  "The  Last  Supper."  What 
other  instances  of  constant  and  complete  devotion  to  a  task 
can  you  mention? 

Possession  must  follow  discovery.  The  merchant  who 
found  the  pearl  sold  all  he  had  and  bought  it.  Many  peo- 
ple would  have  been  satisfied  to  spend  their  lives  talking 
about  what  a  wonderful  pearl  they  had  seen;  how  large  it 
was;  how  perfectly  shaped,  and  what  beautiful,  soft  luster 
it  had!  That  is  what  many  Christians  are  doing — talk- 
ing about  what  a  wonderful  religion  Christianity  is,  in- 
stead of  living  it.  Their  threadbare  testimonies  at  prayer 
meeting  are  the  same  they  gave  ten  years  ago.  There  is 
no  new  Christian  achievement  in  their  lives.  Christianity 
can  do  nothing  for  us  till  we  give  it  a  place  of  authority 
over  our  lives.  Merely  talking  about  it  generates  as  much 
power  as  discussing  the  principles  of  motion.     The  rich 


52      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

young  ruler  is  a  classic  example  of  one  who  discovered  the 
Kingdom,  realized  its  value,  but  declined  to  give  his  all 
for  it.  Dante  calls  his  action  "The  Great  Eefusal."  lu 
what  different  ways  are  men  making  "the  great  refusal" 
to-day,  men  who  are  attracted  by  Jesus,  and  believe  him 
to  be  true,  and  yet  do  not  follow  him  ?  Whose  action  does 
yours  resemble  most,  that  of  the  rich  young  ruler  or  of  the 
merchant  seeking  pearls  ? 

The  Kind  of  Sacrifice  Demanded 

Each  man  alone  knows  what  the  price  of  the  Kingdom 
is  to  him.  Jesus  put  it  in  general  terms  when  he  said, 
"If  thy  hand  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off:  it  is  good 
for  thee  to  enter  into  life  maimed,  rather  than  having  two 
hands  to  go  into  hell.*'  In  concrete  terms  the  cost  means 
giving  up  all  that  prevents  God's  rule  in  one's  heart.  More 
positively,  it  means  bringing  to  him  for  his  use  every 
faculty  and  possession.  It  means  seeking  with  earnest 
effort  to  bring  in  Christ's  order  of  love,  brotherhood,  and 
service  and  making  it  the  controlling  principle  of  the  or- 
ganized life  of  men  in  our  town,  our  State,  our  countr}\ 
and  the  whole  world.  Whenever  a  man  who  is  a  lover  of 
money  renounces  his  covetousness,  when  the  lover  of  pleas- 
ure or  the  man  under  control  of  appetite  conquers  the  love 
of  his  habitual  indulgence,  when  the  proud  man  and  woman 
cast  pride  aside  and  become  humble,  when  the  lazy  man 
overcomes  his  love  of  "slippered  ease,"  when  the  hard  man 
becomes  a  little  more  human  and  sympathetic,  then  each 
is  selling  what  he  has  and  buying  the  Kingdom.  Some 
habit  of  years,  some  cherished  companionship,  some  preju- 
dice, must  perhaps  be  given  up  before  the  treasure  of  the 
Kingdom  is  truly  ours.  The  Kingdom  as  a  social  ideal 
brings  a  high  cost  also.  To  seek  the  Kingdom  as  the  ruling 
power  in  the  social  life  of  men  may  mean  a  willingness  to 
have  profits  decrease,  to  forego  luxuries,  to  have  "inde- 
pendence" restricted  and  the  old  feeling  of  selfish  irrespon- 
sibility disurbed.  It  will  mean  the  giving  up  of  class  preju- 
dice and  class  feeling — and  national  prejudices.  It  will 
mean  gaining  a  new  habit  of  cooperation,  and  all  new 
habits  are  hard  to  establish.    But  the  prize  is  richly  worth 


THE  PEAEL  OF  GREAT  PRICE      53 

the  cost.  What  has  the  effort  to  realize  the  Kingdom  in 
the  relationships  of  your  community  ever  cost  you  ?  What 
has  it  cost  others? 

The  Danger  of  a  "Cheap**  Eeliqion 

This  parable  sounds  a  needed  warning  to-day.  We  live 
in  a  time  of  comfort  and  convenience  and  of  toleration, 
and  there  is  a  strong  tendency  toward  cheap  and  easy  reli- 
gion with  few  duties  attached.  People  are  searching  for 
bargains  everywhere  else  and  look  for  them  in  religion.  The 
preacher  or  the  sect  with  a  ''marked-down"  religion  to  offer 
at  a  low  cost  is  popular.  Some  one  has  keenly  said  that 
there  is  something  radically  wrong  with  the  Christian 
whose  favorite  song  is  "Fm  glad  salvation's  free."  It  is  a 
sign  of  a  far  more  healthy  religion  when  one  sings, 

"Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 
Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all." 

Too  many  people  are  willing  to  use  Christ  only  as  a 
convenience  and  not  follow  him  as  a  Master.  They  are 
Christians  on  their  own  terms,  up  to  the  point  where  it 
profits  them  in  social  or  business  life,  but  not  up  to  the 
point  where  it  costs  sacrifice.  Therefore  they  never  own 
the  treasure. 

The  Church  of  Christ  is  not  a  social  club.  It  is  not  a 
literary  society  nor  a  saint's  everlasting  rest.  It  is  an  army 
moving  on  the  high  enterprise  of  making  Jesus  Christ 
known,  loved,  and  obeyed  throughout  the  whole  world. 
Have  you  enlisted  your  all  ? 

For  Reflection  and  Discussion 

What  effects  will  devotion  to  the  Kingdom  have  on  your 

life  ? 
What  arguments  would  you  use  in  persuading  a  person  to 

become  a  follower  of  Christ?     What,  actually,  does  a 

Christian  have  in  his  life  which  others  do  not  ? 
How  much  does  it  cost  to-day  to  be  a  Christian?    What 

elements  in  the  cost  of  becoming  a  Christian  deter  most 

people  from  being  followers  of  Christ  ? 


54      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

What  will  be  the  cost  of  establishing  the  Kingdom  of  God 
in  your  community  ?    What  things  must  be  given  up  ? 

Why  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  a  higher  good  than  wealth? 
Why  higher  than  fame  ?  How  can  the  Kingdom  be  a  gift 
and  also  something  that  costs  a  large  price  ? 

Has  religion  become  "too  easy'*?  What  are  the  effects  of 
a  religion  which  costs  little  or  nothing? 

What  light  does  this  parable  throw  on  the  importance  of 
religious  education?  Do  parents,  as  a  rule,  place  as 
much  emphasis  on  religious  education  as  on  secular  edu- 
cation ?    If  not,  why  not  ? 

Can  there  be  a  Christian  life  which  does  not  incur  suffer- 
ing? 

Does  your  life  give  the  impression  that  the  possession  of 
the  Kingdom  is  a  great  joy?  What  influence  has  a 
"sour**  or  gloomy  Christian  ? 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN 

Luke  10.  25-37 

Now  a  Jurist  got  up  to  tempt  him.  "Teacher,"  he  said, 
"what  am  I  to  do  to  inherit  life  eternal?"  He  said  to  him, 
"What  is  written  in  the  law?  What  do  you  read  there?"  He 
replied,  "You  must  love  the  Lord  your  Ood  with  your  whole 
heart,  with  your  whole  soul,  with  your  whole  strength,  and 
with  your  whole  mind.  Also  your  neighbour  as  yourself." 
"A  right  answer!"  said  Jesus;  "do  that  and  you  will  live." 
Anxious  to  make  an  excuse  for  himself,  however,  he  said 
to  Jesus,  "But  who  is  my  neighbour?"  Jesus  rejoined,  "A 
man  going  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho  fell  among  robbers 
who  stripped  and  belaboured  him  and  then  went  off  leaving 
him  half-dead.  Now  it  so  chanced  that  a  priest  was  going 
down  the  same  road,  but  on  seeing  him  he  went  past  on  the 
opposite  side.  So  did  a  Levite  who  came  to  the  spot;  he 
looked  at  him  but  passed  on  the  opposite  side.  However  a 
Samaritan  traveller  came  to  where  he  was  and  felt  pity  when 
he  saw  him;  he  went  to  him,  bound  his  wounds  up,  pouring 
oil  and  wine  into  them,  mounted  him  on  his  own  steed,  took 
him  to  an  inn,  and  attended  to  him.  Next  morning  he  took 
out  a  couple  of  shillings  and  gave  them  to  the  innkeeper,  say- 
ing, 'Attend  to  him,  and  if  you  are  put  to  any  extra  expense 
I  will  refund  you  on  my  way  back.'  Which  of  these  three 
men,  in  your  opinion,  proved  a  neighbour  to  the  man  who 
fell  among  the  robbers?"  He  said,  "The  man  who  took  pity 
on  him."    Jesus  said  to  him,  "Then  go  and  do  the  same." 


A  Working  Model  of  Love 

Lifelike  and  full  of  human  interest,  warm  and  tender 
with  sympathy  and  with  a  plain  meaning  of  imiversal 
application,  the  figure  of  the  Good  Samaritan  has  furnished 
to  all  centuries  since  the  time  of  Christ  a  working  model 
of  what  religion  should  mean  in  daily  life.  It  has  helped 
the  world  to  rememher — what  Jesus  did  not  wish  men  to 

55 


56      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OP  JESUS 

forget — that  religion  is  social  and  neighborly.  Avoiding 
all  definition  and  disputation  as  to  who  one's  neighbor  is, 
Jesus  presents  a  beautiful  and  convincing  picture  of  what 
the  neighborly  spirit  of  love  does. 

"Who  Is  My  Neighbok?" 

■-  The  world  owes  much  to  the  men  who  asked  questions 
'  of  Jesus.  The  questions  which  were  put  to  him  cover  the 
great  problems  of  human  life ;  and  our  appreciation  of  the 
real  greatness  of  Jesus  grows  as  we  watch  him  take  his 
way  through  these  hard  questions.  Many  of  them  are  put 
with  the  intention  of  tripping  him,  yet  he  »ever  becomes 
confused  nor  evades  them,  and  always  reaches  the  very 
heart  of  the  matter  with  an  answer  which  states  the  truth 
for  all  time. 

When  the  lawyer  came  to  Jesus,  asking,  "What  shall  I 

do  to  inherit  eternal  life?"  he  brought  one  of  the  great 

universal  questions  which  have  occupied  the  thought  of 

)  men  in  all  ages  and  in  all  lands,     Jesus  responded  in  a 

(  way  which  he  often  used.    He_thre\v  the  man  back  on  his 

^^   V  05?n  resources.     He  insisted  that  tlie '  qfl^Toner  help  to 

^-—j^frame  an  answer  himself.    The  answer  which  the  lawyer 

y\/^  gave  showed  that  he   had   true   religious  understanding 

/       and  appreciated  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  Old 

Testament  law.     Jesus,  ever  eager  to  commend  whenever 

he  met  truth  and  right,  warmly  approved  his  answer. 

Then  the  lawyer  spoiled  it,  as  men  often  do.     He  began 

to  think  of  himself.    "Desiring  to  justify  himself,"  he  said 

to  Jesus,  "Who  is  my  neighbor?"    Hi^^guestiqnjbetra^ed 

a  narrQW_and  legal  interest  in  the  liniitsiEo"'fhe -operation 

of,T6ve.     His  question  was  irr  effectp^'How  far  must  1 

go  in  showing  this  love?"    Jesus  answered  indirectly  with 

a  story  which  declared  that  love  does  not  ask  for  limits  but 

looks  for  openings.    He  showed  that  he  who  could  quibble 

about  whether  a  man  in  need  had  a  claim  on  him  as  a 

neighbor  did  not  have  real  love  in  his  heart  at  all.    Love 

finds  a  neighbor  in  every  one  that  is  in  need  and  can  be 

,  helped. J^ "Love  .    .    .,  like  the  sun,  does  not  inquire  upon 

''  what  it  shall  shine,  or  whom  it  shall  warm,  but  shines  or 

warms  by  the  very  law  of  its  own  being''  (Trench). 

/  ! 

/  1 


THE  GOOD  SAMAEITAN  67 

The  Men  Who  Passed  By 

It  was  a  very  common  experience  for  travelers  to  be 
robbed  and  beaten  on  the  Jericho  road,  so  common,  in  fact, 
that  in  Jesus'  time  it  was  known  as  "the  red,  or  bloody, 
way."  It  was  also  a  very  common  thing  for  priests  and 
Samaritans  to  be  passing  along  the  road.  The  story  was 
all  the  more  convincing  to  its  first  hearers  from  the  life- 
likeness  of  its  materials. 

Probably  the  first  thought  that  came  into  the  traveler's 
mind  as  he  saw  the  priest  approaching  him  was  this :  "How 
lucky  I  am  that  this  is  a  priest  coming  along!  He  is  of 
the  same  blood  as  I  am,  and,  more  than  that,  it  is  his 
special  business  to  help  the  unfortunate."  He  would  be 
far  more  hopeful  on  seeing  a  priest  than  some  alien  or 
heretical  Samaritan.  Imagine  his  disappointment  at  the 
averted  eyes  and  hurrying  steps  of  the  priest  as  he  passed 
on  the  other  side  of  the  road!  The  cruelty  of  the  priest 
was  all  the  more  blameworthy  because  he  was  bound  to  this 
traveler  by  tie*  of  special  obligation,  race,  and  religion. 

The  traveler  would  have  the  same  expectations  of  the 
Levite  who  followed  the  priest.  He  too  was  a  countryman 
and  a  religious  official,  and  he  too  passed  by  with  not  a 
finger  lifted  to  help.  He  even  emphasized  his  selfish  in- 
difference by  coming  near  to  examine  the  case  closely  and 
raising  false  hopes  of  help.  The  special  and  peculiaij' 
wrong  of  the  priest  and  Levite  is  ours  when  we  refuse  to( 
acknowledge  any  special  claim  or  responsibility  to  a  person! 
or  a  group.  What  are  the  particular  ties  by  which  you  arej 
bound  to  others  and  which  constitute  a  claim  on  you? 
What  is  the  relation  between  these  special  ties  and  the  duty 
of  service  to  all  in  need? 

"Even  as  You  and  I" 

(How  little  value  there  is  in  a  religion  without  love 
learly  appears  in  the  parable.    It  is  a  living  example  of  . 
he  truth  uttered  by  Saint  Paul :  "If  I  have  the  gift  of  / 
prophecy,  and  know  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge ;  and  I 
if  I  have  all  faith,  so  as  to  remove  mountains,  but  have  not  I'i 
love,  I  am  nothing."    Without  any  question  both  the  priest  j 


58      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

and  the  Levite  could  have  told  exactly  what  passages  in 
the  Old  Testament  covered  the  case.  The  priest,  at  least, 
could  doubtless  have  quoted  accurately  every  injunction 
to  mercy  to  be  found  in  the  whole  of  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  them.  But  while  they 
knew  the  law  in  the  matter,  they  were  not  familiar  with 
the  deed.  Confronted  by  a  concrete  case  of  actual  desperate' 
need,  they  hurried  on,  muttering  perhaps  a  feeble  and  use- 
less, "Too  bad!"  Yet  the  Samaritan,  who  probably  did 
not  know  as  much  law,  knew  how  to  do  the  loving  act. 
"Love  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law,"  whether  we  know  the 
law  or  not.  Have  you  had  any  similar  experience,  in  that 
people  from  whom  help  might  be  expected  fail,  while  those 
from  whom  nothing  is  expected  respond  ? 

OuK  SHALL0V7  ExcusEs :  "Too  Busy" 

There  was  only  one  method  which  was  adequate  to  deal 
with  the  need  of  this  wounded  traveler — -immediate  per- 
sonal service.  That  the  priest  and  Levite  failed  to  give. 
Their  passing  by  is  typical  of  many  ways  of  "passing  by 
on  the  other  side,"  when  men  are  confronted  with  human 
need  to-day.  People  "pass  by"  because  they  are  "too  busy." 
This  was  doubtless  one  reason  why  the  priest  and  Levite 
hurried  on.  Though  they  were  sorry  for  the  poor  fellow 
by  the  side  of  the  road,  engagements  made  it  impossible 
for  them  to  stop.  And  so  the  procession  hurries  on  to-day, 
^'too  busy"  to  upset  their  plans,  or  miss  their  engagements, 
in  order  to  help  unfortunates,  the  handicapped,  the 
wronged.  How  many  men  know  little  or  nothing  of  "how 
the  other  half  lives"  in  their  own  town,  perhaps  not  ten 
blocks  away !  How  many  do  not  care !  What  is  this  but 
passing  by  on  the  other  side?  How  much  do  you  know 
about  the  social  conditions  of  your  town?  How  many 
times  during  the  last  year  have  3rou  answered  "Too  busy" 
to  appeals  for  work  for  the  church  or  for  community  better- 
ment? Perchance  the  priest  and  the  Levite  were  pre- 
occupied with  "religious  work."  They  did  not  realize  that 
the  most  holy  and  religious  task  to  which  they  could  give 
themselves  just  then  was  to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  this 
suffering  man.  In  the  routine  of  religious  observances  they 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  69 

had  lost  their  sense  of  values  and  had  come  to  regard 
ceremony  as  being  more  important  than  mercy  (see  Matt. 
23.  23),  a  condition  which  has  developed  again  and  again 
in  the  history  of  individuals  and  of  churches.  As  one 
has  said  of  this  priest,  "His  position  had  hardened  on  him  1 
like  a  shell."  What  examples  can  you  give  of  religious  ' 
persons  or  institutions  becoming  indifferent  to  human 
misery  and  needs?  How  does  it  come  about?  How  can 
it  be  prevented? 

"It's  Not  My  Business" 

The  priest  and  Levite  may  have  felt  that  it  was  not  their 
business  to  stop  and  help.     They  could  easily  think  of  1 
others  whose  business  it  was  rather  than  theirs.     They  i 
might  be  willing  to  report  the  case  to  a  Travelers'  Aid  ;| 
Society,  but  beyond  that  they  were  not  concerned.     This'^" 
is  an  easy  and  ready  way  of  evading  calls  for  help.     Mil-  j 
lions  of  people  use  it  every  day.     Yet  such  an  attitude  [ 
always  shows  an  utter  lack  of  the  Christian  spirit  of  love.' 
All  through  his  teachings,  and  supremely  in  this  parable, 
Jesus  insisted  that  all  human  need  is  our  business  to  the   ^ 
"extent  of  our  power.     That  is  just  what  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth  means :  that  men  shall  recognize  each  other 
as  brothers  and  care  for  their  brothers'  welfare  and  need. 
AVith  this  truth  of  Jesus  in  mind,  consider  some  of  the 
duties  which  may  be  your  particular  business:  protection 
of  life  and  property,  protection  of  health,  protection  of  ; 
morals,  religious  education,  protection  of  women  and  chil- 
dren from  exploitation,  care  of  the  sick,  the  delinquent,  the 
criminal,   provision   of    safe    and    wholesome    recreation. 
Which  of  these  matters  are  you  making  your  business? 
If  you  are  not  concerned  with  any  of  them,  how  do  you 
differ  from  the  priest  and  Levite  ? 

"Safety  First" 

We  may  be  sure  that  the  priest  and  Levite  did  not  regard 
themselves  as  heartless  monsters.  They  had  their  ready 
excuses  which  they  put  to  themselves  for  not  giving  any 
aid,  "even  as  you  and  I."  But  the  very  fact  that  the 
excuses  were  made  showed  the  absence  of  real  compassion. 


60      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

For  true  sympathy  never  looks  for  excuses.  One  excuse 
was  danger.  They  could  easily  reason  that  the  robbers 
must  still  be  near.  It  was  safer  to  hurry  on,  and  that  is 
one  large  reason  why  there  are  so  many  like  the  priest  and 

•  Levite  in  the  world.  No  one  can  be  very  useful  who,  in  a 
narrow  sense,  makes  his  motto  "Safety  first."  Some  men 
have  refused  to  sign  a  petition  against  a  saloon  because 
it  would  hurt  their  business.  They  see  the  suffering  caused 
by  the  saloon  but  pass  by  on  the  other  side.  Others  have 
been  afraid  to  oppose  a  corrupt  political  ring  because  of 
"influence."  What  hindrances  to  social  betterment  exist 
in  your  town? 

"^■^  "It's  no  Use" 

A  frequent  reason  for  not  helping  is  because  people  say 
complacently,  "It's  no  use."  Possibly  the  priest  thought 
the  traveler  was  beyond  help.  It  saves  so  much  trouble 
to  decide  that  there  is  no  need  for  our  help.  We  rid  our- 
selves of  the  task  of  helping  some  family  to  get  on  its  feet, 
by  saying,  "It's  no  use";  people  oppose  prison  reform  by 
saying,  "It's  no  use,"  and  regard  humanitarian  reformers 
as  crackbrained  enthusiasts;  they  will  not  work  for  the 
abolition  of  poverty  because  "it's  no  use."  This  easy  way 
out  of  it  is  usually  a  lie.  Men  long  endured  the  scourge 
of  smallpox  and  yellow  fever  and  a  hundred  preventible 
ills  because  it  was  thought  no  use  to  attempt  a  cure  till 
some  one  demonstrated  that  it  could  be  done.  How  is  the 
"no  use"  argument  applied  to  missions,  to  prohibition,  to 
peace  propaganda,  to  a  living  wage?  Have  you  ever  used 
it  yourself  ?  Beware  of  ready  excuses !  There  is  no  surer 
sign  of  deterioration  of  moral  character. 

\  The  Good  Neighbor 

1  The  Good  Samaritan  sets  the  obvious  in  Christianity 
j  clearly  before  our  eyes.  It  is  an  important  service,  for, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  the  plain,  elementary,  obvious 
aspects  of  Christianity  which  are  frequently  forgotten. 
Christianity  is  more  than  helpfulness,  but  it  must  include 
that.    No  orthodoxy  of  opinion  or  zeal  in  propaganda  can 

*  make  up  for  a  moment  for  the  lack  of  love.     The  very 


THE  GOOD  SAMARITAN  61 

essence  of  Christianity  consists  in  the  willingness  to  do 
ju^t  what  the  Good  Samaritan  did — share  some  advantage 
that  is  ours  with  some  one  who  needs  it.  This  is  what 
"Paul  means  when  he  pleads,  "Have  this  mind  in  you 
which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  man  to  whom  Jesus 
points  with  the  injunction  ''Go,  and  do  thou  likewise"  is 
well  worthy  of  study.    He  is  a  model  of  love  in  action. 

Pkrsoxal  Sekvice 

The  service  of  the  Good  Samaritan  was  personal.  And 
in  no  respect  "is  he  more  worthy  of  eternal  emulation  than 
in  that.  He  got  down  from  his  horse  and  gave  himself 
to  the  man's  needs.  This  is  worth  noting  in  these  days 
when  so  many  things  are  done  through  organizations  and 
committees.  Organization  is  so  great  a  help  in  all  good 
work  that  there  has  grown  up  a  pathetic  faith  that  all  that 
is  necessary  to  overcome  an  evil  is  to  form  an  organization^^„^ 
appoint  committees,  and  deal  with  it  impersonally.  Dr.  ' 
Charles  R.  Brown  says,  keenly:  "This  story  would  have  / 
been  very  different  if  the  Samaritan  had  seen  the  trouble  | 
and  said,  'When  I  reach  home  I  must  send  a  check  to  the 
Relief  Corps  for  Wounded  Travelers' ;  or  if  he  had  simply 
determined  to  get  a  ringing  resolution  passed  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  association,  denouncing  'these  Bedouin 
atrocities';  or  if  he  had  consumed  all  his  philanthropic 
zeal  in  writing  'an  open  letter*  to  the  paper  on  the  laxity 
of  police  regulations  on  the  road  between  Jerusalem  and 
Jericho.  In  the  meantime,  the  poor,  wounded,  half-dead 
traveler  would  have  been  dead  altogether.  What  the  Good 
Samaritan  did  was  to  take  personal  care  of  the  needy 
man;  after  that  the  check,  the  open  letter,  the  resolutions 
might  be  very  well." 

Some  one  has  wittily  said  that  an  American's  remedy 
for  any  wrong  is  to  appoint  a  committee.  The  personal 
touch  gives  way  to  officious  inquiry.  It  is  this  tendency 
which  has  given  rise  to  the  description, 

"Organized  charity,  scrimped  and  iced 
In  the  name  of  a  cautious,  statistical  Christ." 

Organized  charity  is  absolutely  necessary,  but  it  need  not 


63      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

become  hard  and  unsympathetic.  It  needs  much  personal 
contact  to  save  it.  Its  main  reliance  to-day  is  not  on  paid 
secretaries,  but  on  the  "friendly  visitor,"  an  unpaid  volun- 
tary worker  who  takes  a  real  interest  in  people,  rather  than 
a  professional  interest  in  "cases."  Many  people  are  much 
more  ready  to  discuss  the  immigration  problem  than  to 
care  for  an  immigrant  on  the  next  block.  Contrast  with 
this  attitude  the  time  and  attention  which  Jesus  gave  to 
individuals.  Notice  the  beginning  of  this  very  parable — 
"a  certain  man."  When_Jesus  talks  about  love  it.is^lways 
in  the  concrete — love  to  sonie"paftieulaf  "people.  It  is  easy 
to  Fove  rnen  when  that  means  only  a  vague  feeling  of  good 
will  to  humanity  in  general.  Such  a  feeling  is  worth  little 
or  nothing.  An  illustration  of  this  is  found  in  the  people 
who  profess  to  believe  in  the  brotherhood  of  man,  but  who 
call  some  of  those  who  make  up  that  brotherhood  "dagos" 
and  "sheenies"  and  "niggers."  Eeligion  becomes  easy  and 
useless  just  in  proportion  as  it  grows  vague. 

The  Good  Samaritan's  help  was  not  only  personal,  it 
was  self-sacrificing.  Many  people  are  willing  to  play  the 
Good  Samaritan  without  the  oil  and  two  pence.  Much 
of  our  giving  stops  this  side  of  the  point  where  it  hurts  or 
causes  us  to  give  up  something.  The  Samaritan  gave  of 
his  time,  for  he  was  undoubtedly  on  a  business  journey. 
He  gave  of  his  money  and  goods,  and  it  may  well  have 
meant  some  privation  to  himself.  He  gave  his  service, — 
getting  down  from  his  beast  and  lifting  up  the  wounded 
man.  His  service  was  thorough.  He  did  not  leave  his  task 
of  rescue  half  done,  with  the  pious  hope  that  the  man 
would  "get  along  all  right,"  or  the  vague  request  to  "write 
me  if  I  can  do  anything  for  you,"  He  "saw  it  through," 
and  in  doing  so  he  is  a  model  for  Christian  effort.  Much 
effort  is  lost  because  it  is  scattered  too  much.  Dr.  Cabot 
says  that  Paul's  "this  one  thing  I  do"  has  become  "these 
forty  things  I  dabble  in." 

"Go,  AND  Do  Thou  Likewise** 

There  is  an  electric  quality  about  Jesus'  command  at 
the  end  of  the  parable.  The  lawyer  covdd  not  by  any 
means  mistake  the  pointed  personal  application  to  himself 


THE  GOOD  SAMAEITAN  63 

which  Jesus  made.  Neither  can  any  of  us.  We  must  ask 
ourselves :  "Am  I  doing  likewise  ?  How  hard  am  I  trying 
to  do  likewise?" 

Where  in  these  days  do  you  find  the  counterpart  of  this 
poor,  half-dead  traveler?  It  may  not  be  some  one  in 
actual  physical  distress.  Perhaps  it  is  an  unfortunate 
friend  who  is  having  a  hard  time  to  get  along  or  some  one 
wounded  and  robbed  by  heredity,  whom  our  advantage  can 
help.  We  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  cause  of  the  un- 
privileged, the  underpaid,  the -unfortunate  without  cross- 
~ing  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  Jericho  road  with  the 
priest  and  Levite.  ._ 

One  of  our  greatest  dangers  to-day  is  that  of  living  a  life  ^ 
so  sheltered  and  so  busy  that  we  never  see  the  man  in  need. 
hit  was  said  of  Goethe  that  ''he  kept  well  out  of  sight  of 
[stripped  and  wounded  and  half -dead  men.''     He  found 
'such  things  unpleasant  and  so  lived  his  life  in  sheltered 
places.    It  is  surprising  how  easy  it  is  to  live  out  of  sight 
of  suffering  even  in  a  great  city  where  there  is  so  much. 
'  One  can  live  in  a  "fine"  section  of  town,  move  among 
"nice"  people,  belong  to  a  pleasant  church,  and  never  feel 
■  the  twinge  of  pain  or  misery  or  see  the  anguish  of  pain 
!  or  the  squalor  of  poverty.    Because  it  does  not  come  on  our 
daily  beaten  track  we  forget  that  it  exists.     And  in  that 
sheltered,  thoughtless  ease  lies  the  chief  reason  that  the 
world  still  contains  after  two  thousand  years  of  Christ 
so  much  unrelieved  pain  and  want. 

Foe  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

In  what  respects  are  the  following  classes  of  the  com- 
munity like  the  traveler  who  was  robbed  and  beaten: 
the  immigrant,  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  defective,  the 
ignorant  ?  How  can  we  act  the  part  of  the  Good  Samari- 
tan to  these  classes  ? 

Suppose  the  Good  Samaritan  had  come  along  the  road  when 
the  robbers  were  just  beginning  to  attack  the  traveler. 
What  would  have  been  his  duty  then?  How  does  your 
answer  apply  to  the  present-day  movement  for  the  pre- 
vention of  evil? 


•<  - 


64   STUDIES  m  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

What  are  the  most  urgent  needs  of  your  community  ?  What 
are  the  most  neglected  classes  ? 

What  responsibility  has  the  church  to  the  community  out- 
ride its  doors  ?  What  can  the  church  as  an  organization 
"do  to  put  the  Christian  spirit  into  legislation  ? 

How  does  the  Christian  treatment  of  the  immigrant  help 
to  establish  brotherly  international  relations? 

What  are  the  most  dangerous  forms  of  organized  evil  to- 
day? 

How  can  we  make  the  response  to  need  habitual  ? 

What  has  been  the  effect  of  Christianity  on  the  feeling  of 
pity? 

What  more  than  emotion  does  Jesus  mean  by  love  ? 


CHAPTER   VII 
THE  TEN  VIEGINS 

Matthew  25.  1-13 

"Then  shall  the  Realm  of  heaven  be  compared  to  ten 
maidens  who  took  their  lamps  and  went  out  to  meet  the 
bridegroom  and  the  bride.  Five  of  them  were  stupid  and 
five  were  sensible.  For  although  the  stupid  took  their  lamps, 
they  took  no  oil  with  them,  whereas  the  sensible  took  oil 
in  their  vessels  as  well  as  their  lamps.  As  the  bridegroom 
was  long  of  coming,  they  all  grew  drowsy  and  went  to  sleep. 
But  at  midnight  the  cry  arose,  'Here  is  the  bridegroom!  Come 
out  to  meet  him!'  Then  all  the  maidens  rose  and  trimmed 
their  lamps.  The  stupid  said  to  the  sensible,  'Give  us  some 
of  your  oil,  for  our  lamps  are  going  out.'  But  the  sensible 
replied,  'No,  there  may  not  be  enough  for  us  and  for  you. 
Better  go  to  the  dealers  and  buy  for  yourselves.'  Now  while 
they  were  away  buying  oil,  the  bridegroom  arrived;  those 
maidens  who  were  ready  accompanied  him  to  the  marriage- 
banquet,  and  the  door  was  shut.  Afterwards  the  rest  of  the 
maidens  came  and  said,  'Oh  sir,  oh  sir,  open  the  door  for  us!' 
but  he  replied,  'I  tell  you  frankly,  I  do  not  know  you.' 
Keep  on  the  watch  then,  for  you  know  neither  the  day  nor 
the  hour." 


The  opening  verses  of  the  24th  chapter  of  Matthew  give 
the  occasion  of  this  parable,  which  occurs,  with  two  others, 
in  the  25th  chapter.  On  being  shown  the  wonders  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  Jesus  tells  his  disciples  that  a  time 
will  come  when  one  stone  shall  not  be  left  upon  another. 
Later,  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  when  the  opportunity  oL' 
private  conversation  has  come,  they  ask  him  eagerly,  "When 
shall  these  things  be?"  Naturally,  they  are  very  anxious 
to  learn  the  exact  date  of  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  on  earth.  The  answer  Jesus  gives  to  this  ques- 
tion occupies  two  whole  chapters,  Matthew  24  and  25,  and 
includes  three  parables. 

The  essence  of  Jesus*  answer  is  this:  ''Watch  therefore, 

65 


66      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAKABLES  OF  JESUS 

for  ye  know  not  the  day  nor  the  hour."  The  three  parables 
in  Matthew  25  set  forth  what  Jesus  meant  by  "watch." 
The  Parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins  stresses  the  necessity  for 
preparation.  In  the  Parable  of  the  Talents  the  need  of 
fidelity  is  urged.  In  the  Parable  of  the  Last  Judgment  it 
is  the  duty  of  love  which  is  set  forth. 

A  Gripping  Stoey 

In  sheer  interest  as  a  dramatic  story  scarcely  any  of  the 
parables  surpasses  that  of  the  Ten  Virgins.  Try  to  tell 
it  in  any  other  words,  and  you  will  discover  how  much 
weaker  your  version  or  that  of  anyone  else  is  than  the 
original.  Its  rapid  movement,  the  startling  suddenness  of 
the  midnight  cry,  the  haste  of  the  surprised  sleepers,  and 
the  weird  pathos  of  those  shut  out  from  the  warm  glow 
of  the  banquet  room — all  these  elements  make  it  an  in- 
tensely interesting  story  and  have  given  it  a  firm  hold 
on  the  Christian  imagination. 

It  is  as  the  vehicles  of  spiritual  truth,  however,  that 
the  parables  continue  of  interest  to  the  world.  And  while 
probably  no  paral)le  has  suffered  more  than  this  one  from 
extravagances  of  interpretation  and  the  finding  of  in- 
genious meanings  in  every  minor  detail,  nevertheless,  if 
we  take  its  broad  meanings,  it  is  exceedingly  plain  and 
simple  and  comes  very  close  home  to  the  everyday  problems 
of  living  for  all  men. 

The  Supreme  Emergency 

The  supreme  emergency  treated  in  this  parable  is  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  Jesus  says  that  it  will 
be  unexpected,  but  he  does  not  say  how  soon  it  will  come. 
Readiness  and  patience  are  both  needed.  How  much  need 
there  was  for  just  this  teaching  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
history  of  the  early  church,  which  did  not  thoroughly  learn 
this  lesson  of  the  tarrying  kingdom.  They  expected  the 
second  coming  of  Christ  very  soon  and  were  often  disap- 
pointed. They  had  to  realize  over  and  over  again  the  truth 
of  Jesus'  words,  "The  end  is  not  yet." 

There  are  many  Christian  people  who  are  greatly  in- 
terested in  the  time  and  the  exact  details  of  the  second 


THE  TEN  VIRGINS  67 

I  coming  of  Christ.  What  light  does  this  parable  throw  o)i 
;  the  profitableness  of  all  attempts  to  figure  out  the  date  and 
the  manner  of  the  coming  of  Christ?  Does  it  not  urge 
the  duty  of  readiness  by  life  and  service  rather  than 
curiosity  as  to  times  and  seasons?  There  are,  in  general, 
two  kinds  of  watchfulness.  They  may  be  illustrated  by 
a  fisherman's  wife,  whose  husband  is  expected  back  from 
the  sea.  She  can  either  spend  all  her  time  down  on  the 
dock  looking  through  a  telescope  or  she  can  busy  herself 
preparing  for  his  needs  when  he  returns.  Which  kind  of 
watchfulness  do  you  think  is  the  better  illustration  of  wise 
Christian  conduct? 

Are  you  accustomed  to  think  of  the  coming  of  Christ  as 
far  away  in  a  dim  future?  Have  you  ever  thought  of  it 
as  something  that  is  going  on  every  daj^  that  is  actually 
happening  in  the  present?  Think  for  a  moment  of  that 
conception  of  it.  The  progressive  coming  of  the  Christ 
and  his  kingdom  in  the  daily  expansion  of  his  rule  over 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  men  and  the  increasing  knowledge 
and  obedience  to  him  on  the  part  of  millions  of  people  is 
a  very  real  daily  "coming"  of  Christ.  Is  not  Christ  com- 
ing to  China,  to  India,  to  America,  in  a  growing  sense 
every  year?  Does  he  not  "come  again"  in  every  new  life 
given  over  to  the  control  of  his  sinrit  ?  The  conviction  that 
Christ  is  actually  coming  to-day  in  larger  measure  as  the 
ruler  of  men's  hearts,  and  so  of  the  world,  is  a  strong  in- 
centive to  active  daily  service.  If  we  consider  the  second 
coming  of  Christ  as  his  progressive  coming  every  day  in 
a  wider  lordship  over  men's  lives,  is  it  possible  for  us 
to  hasten  that  coming  by  our  action?  In  what  ways? 
What  are  you  doing  now  to  hasten  the  establishment  of 
the  kingdom  of  God? 

Deficient  Goodness 

The  neglect  of  the  foolish  virgins  represents  a  failure 
to  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom.  As  we  think 
of  them  in  that  Rght,  several  types  of  conduct,  likewise 
hindrances  to  the  advance  of  the  Kingdom,  come  readily 
to  mind. 

Here  the  foolish  virgins  resemble  closely  the  soil  whicli 


68      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

had  no  depth  of  earth  in  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  and  the 
foolish  builder  who  built  on  sand.  Mark  Twain  tells  of 
steamboats  on  the  Mississippi  which  exhausted  all  their 
steam  in  blowing  the  whistle.  Have  you  ever  seen 
emotional  religion  which  had  little  effect  on  conduct? 
What  effect  does  indulgence  in  religious  emotion,  when  it 
does  not  result  in  practical  action,  have  on  character? 
Sentiment  without  sacrifice  is  another  form  of  emotion 
not  backed  up  by  action.  Have  you  ever  known  people 
who  liked  sermons  which  touched  the  feelings,  but  who 
never  translated  feeling  into  action?  There  can  be  no 
greater  mistake  in  any  enterprise  of  life,  particularly  of 
the  religious  life,  than  to  suppose  that  a  few  warm  excited 
feelings  will  carry  one  through  triumphantly  to  the  end 
and  take  the  place  of  a  long  course  of  patience  and  self- 
denial.  Enthusiasm  and  emotion,  though  good,  are  of 
little  value  when  not  backed  up  by  perseverance.  Prin- 
ciples and  habits  must  supplement  feelings  in  every  im- 
portant undertaking.  How  can  a  good  emotion  or  feeling 
become  a  habit? 

Church  activity  or  church  membership  without  right- 
eousness is  another  kind  of  "foolish  virgin  goodness"  which 
counts  for  nothing.  Ecclesiastical  machinery  is  simply  the 
form  without  life,  without  vital  goodness.  Church  mem- 
bership is  a  good  expression  of  righteousness.  It  is  a  poor 
substitute  for  it. 

The  Peril  of  Superficiality 

The  parable  makes  clear,  then,  the  danger  of  super- 
ficiality, the  serious  possibility  that  our  religious  life  may 
consist  mainly  of  outward  observances  and  pretensions, 
having  very  little  core  of  genuine  faith  and  conviction. 
Those  who  lay  out  their  scheme  of  life  so  that  it  may  please 
the  eye  of  men  rather  than  Him  that  "seeth  in  secret," 
make  the  perilous  mistake  of  the  foolish  virgins  in  being 
more  careful  of  the  outward  than  the  inward.  Indeed,  the 
advance  of  civilization  in  convenience  and  complexity  in- 
creases the  tendency  toward  superficiality  in  many  depart- 
ments of  life  in  social  intercourse  and  education,  for  in- 
stance.   What  forces  to-day  are  causing  this  ?    How  about 


THE  TEN  VIRGINS  69 

pressure  on  time  ?  The  prevalence  of  imitation  ?  The  wor- 
ship of  "success"  as  an  ideal  of  life  ?  What  effect  do  these 
have  on  the  thoroughness  and  vitality  of  religious  life  ? 

The  failure  of  the  foolish  virgins  lay  in  neglect.  What 
forms  of  neglect  in  our  religious  life  are  most  common? 
Can  a  person's  religious  life  be  kept  strong  and  vigorous 
without  prayer?  Consider  the  place  prayer  occupied  in 
the  life  of  Jesus  as  a  preparation  for  temptation  and  serv- 
ice. In  that  light  how  large  a  place  does  it  occupy  in 
your  life  ?  Consider  meditation  and  obedience.  Can  these 
be  safely  neglected  ? 

The  Test  of  Emergency 

The  parable  also  vividly  portrays  the  truth  that  emer- 
gency tests  character.  Until  the  bridegroom  came  the 
difference  between  the  virgins  was  not  evident.  The  sud- 
den midnight  call  divided  them  into  two  classes — the  pre- 
pared and  the  neglectful.  So  a  crisis  or  emergency  reveals 
what  we  really  are.  When  we  realize  that  this  tested 
character  is  a  gradual  growth,  we  know  that  there  are  no 
ordinary  or  unimportant  days.  "As  we  become  permanent 
drunkards  by  so  many  separate  drinks,  so  we  become  saints 
in  the  moral  world,  and  authorities  and  experts  in  practical 
and  scientific  spheres,  by  so  many  separate  acts  and  hours 
of  work.  Let  no  youth  have  any  anxiety  about  the  upshot 
of  his  education,  whatever  the  line  of  it  may  be.  If  he 
keep  faithfully  busy  each  hour  of  the  working  day,  he  may 
safely  leave  the  final  result  to  itself.  He  can  with  perfect 
certainty  count  on  waking  up  some  fine  morning  to  find 
himself  one  of  the  competent  ones  of  his  generation,  in 
whatever  pursuit  he  may  have  singled  out."^  How  would 
this  truth  apply  directly  to  the  religious  life?  How  does 
it  act  as  an  encouragement  to  live  each  day  earnestly  and 
zealously  ? 

What  are  the  great  emergencies  of  life  which  do  come 
or  may  come  to  all  men  and  for  which  we  must  prepare? 
How  swiftly  the  common  emergencies  of  life  come !  The 
death  of  a  loved  one,  financial  loss,  sickness — these  and 
many  other  crises  come  upon  us  as  suddenly  as  the  midnight 

>  James,  Psychology,  Briefer  Course,  p.  150. 


70      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

<3ry,  '^Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh!"  How  many  of  the 
following  emergencies  are  common  to  the  lives  of  most 
people? — temptations  of  appetite,  of  pride,  envy,  careless- 
ness, laziness;  the  discouragement  of  failure  or  poverty; 
the  moral  dangers  of  success;  sickness  and  invalidism; 
bereavement ;  financial  loss ;  disappointed  ambition.  Which 
of  the  above  have  you  faced?  How  can  we  prepare  for 
any  of  these  ? 

To-day's  Emeegency 

The  opportunity  for  action  which  shall  prepare  for  the 
coming  of  the  Kingdom  on  earth  was  never  larger  than 
to-day,  Never  was  the  time  more  truly  epoch-making  than 
the  days  in  which  we  live.  A  thoughtful  student  of  affairs 
said  recently,  "I  had  rather  be  living  in  the  next  ten  years 
than  in  any  other  decade  of  human  history."  It  was  his 
conviction  that  the  events  transpiring  were  of  more  impor- 
tance and  the  opportunities  for  influence  larger  than  ever 
before.  For  the  great  world  war  is  making  a  new  world. 
Old  habits  and  customs  of  life  and  thought  have  been 
broken  up  never  again  to  be  reestablished.  Think  of  the 
opportunity  presented  for  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom 
among  men  by  the  following  tendencies  of  the  war:  the 
enlarging  of  the  horizon  of  men's  minds  through  new  ex- 
periences and  the  growth  of  international  spirit,  thus  pre- 
paring for  the  Kingdom's  ideal  of  the  common  good  of  all ; 
the  new  reality  to  the  religious  faith  of  millions ;  the  grow- 
ing hatred  of  war,  deeper  than  ever  before,  and  the  deter- 
mination that  it  must  cease ;  the  breaking  down  of  barriers 
of  class  and  caste,  the  revival  of  the  spirit  of  unselfishness, 
fidelity,  and  sacrifice.  All  these  and  many  more  results 
make  the  possibility  of  reorganizing  the  life  of  the  nations 
on  a  new,  sounder,  and  higher  foundation  politically,  sO' 
cially,  and  religiously.  Are  we,  the  followers  of  Christ, 
ready  for  this  marvelous  coming  of  the  Kingdom  in  our 
own  day?  Is  our  faith  strong  enough,  our  vision  broad 
enough  to  seize  the  opportunity,  so  that  the  generation  of 
reconstruction  following  the  great  war  may  see  the  greatest 
advancement  of  vital  Christianity  the  world  has  ever 
known  ?    It  demands  activity  along  many  lines,  promoting 


THE  TEN  VIRGINS  71 

international  sympathy  and  enforcing  peace,  making  the 
social  and  industrial  relations  of  men  Christian  in  fact 
as  well  as  in  name,  strategic  advances  in  the  missionary 
enterprise,  securing  an  adequate  place  for  religious  educa- 
tion in  the  nation's  life,  drawing  the  branches  of  the 
Christian  Churcli  into  a  working  federation  presenting  a 
united  front  in  all  endeavor.  All  these  to-day  are  a  glori- 
ous possibility.    What  will  you  do  to  make  them  a  reality  ? 

Character  Cannot  be  Borrowed 

It  was  one  of  the  truths  which  were  recovered  from 
neglect  by  the  Protestant  Eeformation  that  character  can- 
not be  borrowed.  No  merit  from  another  person's  acts, 
his  faithfulness,  or  his  service  can  pass  to  us.  The  foolish 
virgins  could  not  borrow  oil  from  the  wise ;  they  must  buy 
for  themselves.  This  was  not  due,  in  the  story,  to  arbi- 
trary hard-heartedness  on  the  part  of  the  wise  virgins. 
They  were  no  doubt  sorry  for  the  foolish  ones.  Their 
refusal  indicated  a  lack  of  power  to  give.  Personal  reserves 
of  spirit  and  character  cannot  be  transferred  in  any  im- 
mediate and  easy  way.  It  is  impossible  for  one  person  to 
impart  to  another  the  spiritual  power  which  conies  from 
frequent  communion  with  God  and  continued  practice  of 
his  will.  No  religious  person  can  give  of  his  character; 
he  can  only  tell  how  it  may  be  obtained — no  more  than  a 
firm-muscled,  broad-shouldered  athlete  can  give  his 
strength  to  an  invalid. 

Think  for  a  moment  of  the  many  modem  ways  in  which 
this  old  mistake  of  the  foolish  virgins  is  made.  Have  you 
ever  heard  this  bit  of  doo:o;erel? — 


'OO^ 


"In  the  world's  broad  field  of  battle, 
In  the  bivouac  of  life. 
You  will  find  the  average  layman 
Represented  by  his  wife." 

We  smile  at  it,  but  does  it  not  stand  for  the  attitude  of 
many  men  toward  the  church  and  the  tasks  of  the  kingdom 
of  God?  What  preparation  for  his  life's  needs  and  tests 
will  his  wife's  religious  experience  and  service  make  for 
a  man?     W.  M.  Taylor  says,  "We  give  so  much  to  each 


73      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

other  and  receive  so  much  from  each  other  in  common  life, 
that  we  are  apt  to  suppose  that  it  is  possible  in  moral 
things,  as  well  as  secular."  But  our  hardest  battles  must 
be  fought  alone,  and  the  only  strength  available  is  that 
inner  character  which  we  have  actually  won  for  ourselves. 
Think  of  the  lonely  personal  battles  in  the  Bible,  such  as 
Joseph's  resistance  of  temptation,  Moses'  choice  of  God's 
people,  Job's  struggle  with  despair,  Jesus'  temptation. 
Eemember  this;  there  will  come  times  to  you  when  you 
will  desperately  need  courage  to  perform  duty,  patience 
under  pain,  comfort  in  sorrow.  How  is  your  present  life 
preparing  you  to  meet  these  crises  successfully  ? 

Too  Late! 

There  is  a  tragic  sadness  at  the  end  of  this  parable.  The 
picture  with  which  it  closes  is  unforgetable — the  bright 
gleaming  lights  of  the  marriage  feast,  the  warmth  and 
fellowship  within,  the  plea  of  the  late  comers  outside  the 
shut  door,  and  then  the  stern  forbidding  words,  "I  know 
you  not." 

Tennyson  has  expressed  very  vividly  the  pathos  of  the 
scene : 

"Late,  late,  so  late!  and  dark  the  night  and  chill! 
Late,  late,  so  late!  but  we  can  enter  still. 
'Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now!' 

"No  light  had  we;  for  that  we  do  repent, 
And  learning  this,  the  Bridegroom  will  relent. 
'Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now.' 

"No  light!  so  late!  and  dark  and  chill  the  night — 
Oh  let  us  in,  that  we  may  find  the  light. 
'Too  late,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now."* 

What  is  the  application  of  this  tragic  story  of  Jesus  to 
our  everyday  life  ?  Let  us  not  miss  one  primary  meaning. 
Death,  which  comes  to  every  man,  is  one  time  when  it  is 
''too  late."  It  is  too  late  then  to  put  good  intentions  into 
actions,  to  rectify  past  wrongs,  to  give  of  our  strength  and 
time  to  the  needs  of  men  and  women.  In  getting  away 
from  morbid  thinking  about  death,  have  not  multitudes  of 
people  put  the  thought  of  death  entirely  away  from  them. 


THE  TEN  VIRGINS  73 

with  the  result  that  a  carelessness  has  taken  the  place  of  a 
serious  urgency  in  connection  with  the  duties  of  life? 
Recall  how  strongly  Jesus  felt  that  his  work  must  be  done 
quickly  while  opportunity  was  ripe — "I  must  work  the 
works  of  him  tiiat  sent  me  while  it  is  yet  day,  for  the 
night  Cometh  when  no  man  can  work.'*  You  have  your 
life  insured  because  it  is  uncertain.  Should  not  the  same 
reason  cause  you  to  give  your  best  and  utmost  service  to 
the  kingdom  of  God  every  day  ? 

The  foolish  virgins  were  not  the  victims  of  a  relentless 
and  unforgiving  friend.  Their  exclusion  represents,  rather, 
the  solemn  truth  that  opportunities  pass  and  can  never 
come  again.  Certain  doors  shut,  never  to  open  again. 
There  may  come  a  time  when  character  can  no  longer  be 
developed,  when  the  desire  for  holiness  shall  cease  and  the 
(•apacity  for  moral  attainment  be  lost.  Every  day  when 
we  neglect  to  cultivate  the  true  life  in  our  souls,  that  life 
becomes  the  more  difficult  to  obtain.  Character  tends  to 
crystallize.  God  is  still  ready  to  forgive  men,  but  they  may 
so  habituate  themselves  to  sin  that  they  do  not  desire  or 
seek  forgiveness.  Have  you  ever  known  anyone  whose 
<;apacity  for  moral  development  seemed  completely  lost? 
What  other  doors  of  opportunity  and  privilege  do  men  shut 
upon  themselves  by  neglect? 

The  world-wide  opportunity  of  the  Kingdom  to-day,  for 
instance,  is  a  fleeting  one.  It  cannot  possibly  be  the  same 
for  a  number  of  years.  If  the  church  is  to  avail  herself  of 
the  new  religious  interest  and  faith,  it  must  do  so  now  by 
presenting  a  religion  vital  enough  to  command  allegiance. 
The  strategic  moment  of  presenting  Christianity  as  a  reli- 
gion to  nations  whose  long-established  faith  is  crumbling 
away  must  be  seized  immediately.  Ten  years  from  now 
the  present  opportunity  will  be  gone.  How  can  you  help 
Christian  forces  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  ? 

Foe  Reflection  and  Discussion 

In  what  sense  is  Christ  coming  to  each  of  us  every  day  ? 
Which  is  the  severer  test  of  character,  poverty  or  wealth? 
Give  some  illustrations  of  the  necessity  for  backing  up 


74   STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

emotions  by  principles  and  habits  in  reference  to  benevo- 
lence, patriotism,  worship. 

Can  you  give  any  examples  of  great  leaders  who  were  un- 
consciously prepared  for  large  opportunities  by  daily 
fulfilment  of  obscure  and  ordinarj'^  tasks? 

What  can  we  do  for  one  another  in  our  religious  life,  and 
what  must  every  man  do  for  himself? 

Are  most  acts  due  to  impulse  at  the  time  or  to  habit? 

Are  as  many  failures  in  business  due  to  lack  of  ability  as 
to  lack  of  perseverance  ?    In  the  Christian  life  ? 

In  what  order  would  you  rank  the  Parables  of  Jesus  ac- 
cording to  their  interest  as  stories  ? 


CHAPTEE   VIII 
THE  UNMEECIFUL  SEKVANT 

Matthew  18.  23-35 

Then  Peter  came  up  and  said  to  him,  "Lord,  how  often  Is 
my  brother  to  sin  against  me  and  be  forgiven?  Up  to  seyen 
times?"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Seven  times?  I  say,  seventy 
times  seven!  That  is  why  the  Realm  of  heaven  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  king  who  resolved  to  settle  accounts  with  his  ser- 
vants. When  he  began  the  settlement,  a  debtor  was  brought 
in  who  owed  him  three  million  pounds;  as  he  was  unable  to 
pay,  his  master  ordered  him  to  be  sold,  along  with  his  wife 
and  children  and  all  he  had,  in  payment  of  the  sum.  So  the 
servant  fell  down  and  prayed  him,  'Have  patience  with  me, 
and  I  will  pay  you  it  all.'  And  out  of  pity  for  that  servant 
his  master  released  him  and  discharged  his  debt.  But  as  that 
servant  went  away,  he  met  one  of  his  fellow-servants  who 
owed  him  twenty  pounds,  and  seizing  him  by  the  throat  he 
said,  'Pay  your  debt!'  So  his  fellow-servant  fell  down  and 
implored  him.  saying,  'Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay 
you.'  But  he  refused;  he  went  and  had  him  thrown  into 
prison,  till  he  should  pay  the  debt.  Now  when  his  fellow- 
servants  saw  what  had  happened  they  were  greatly  distressed, 
and  they  went  and  explained  to  their  master  all  that  had 
happened.  Then  his  master  summoned  him  and  said,  'You 
scoundrel  of  a  servant!  I  discharged  all  that  debt  for  you, 
because  you  implored  me.  Ought  you  not  to  have  had  mercy 
on  your  fellow-servant,  as  I  had  on  you?'  And  in  hot  anger 
his  master  handed  him  over  to  the  torturers,  till  he  should 
pay  him  all  the  debt.  My  Father  will  do  the  same  to  you 
unless  you  each  forgive  your  brother  from  the  heart." 


Love  Versus  Akithmetic 

It  is  small  wonder  that  as  Jesus  endeavored  to  substitute 
for  the  hard-and-fast  legalism  of  the  Judaism  of  his  time 
a  religion  whose  center  and  soul  was  an  active  love,  he 
should  have  found  it  a  slow  process.  Even  those  who  knew 
him  best  and  had  been  with  him  most  were  slow  to  under- 

75 


76      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

stand  the  vast  difference  between  the  new  teaching  he 
brought  and  the  old  system  of  rules  under  which  they  had 
lived.  We  have  seen  that  the  Parable  of  the  Good  Samari- 
tan was  called  forth  by  one  who  wished  for  mathematical 
information.  He  wished  to  know  just  Icow  far  love  would 
have  to  extend.  Jesus'  answer  was  not  mathematical  but 
spiritual,  that  real  love  had  no  limits  and  extended  far 
enough  to  cover  every  case  of  need.  Peter  comes  to  Jesus 
with  a  similar  question.  "How  many  times"  he  asks, 
"must  I  forgive  my  brother  ?"  There  is  the  same  mistaken 
interest  in  exact  rules  and  the  same  mistaken  feeling  of 
compulsion  in  Peter's  question  that  there  was  in  that  of 
the  lawyer.  Jesus  gives  him  an  answer  similar  to  that 
given  to  the  lawyer  by  the  Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 
The  whole  idea  of  "how  many  times"  in  connection  with 
forgiveness  was  utterly  wrong.  In  the  story  of  the  Un- 
merciful Servant  Jesus  declared  that  whoever  had  the 
spirit  wliich  a  child  of  God  ought  to  have,  and  who  realized 
the  extent  of  God's  mercy  to  him,  could  never  think  that 
it  was  possible  for  him  to  be  too  forgiving. 

When  Peter  asked  if  he  should  forgive  his  brother  seven 
times,  he  no  doubt  thought  himself  generous  to  an  extreme, 
for  he  had  more  than  doubled  the  number  of  times  com- 
monly held  by  the  Jews  to  be  necessary  to  forgive  an 
offender.  "Forgive  three  times  but  not  the  fourth"  was 
the  common  rule  justified  by  the  supposed  meaning  of 
Amos  1.  3 :  "For  three  transgressions  of  Damascus,  yea. 
for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the  punishment  thereof." 
and  Job  33.  29  : 

"Lo,  all  these  things  doth  God  work. 
Twice,  yea,  thrice,  with  a  man. 
To  bring  back  his  soul  from  the  pit." 

But  even  though  seven  was  a  large  advance  over  three, 
Peter's  question  showed  that  he  still  missed  the  spirit  of 
Christ's  teaching.  The  parable  shows  that  it  was  not  a 
mere  increase  of  number  of  times  which  Jesus  demanded, 
but  an  entirely  different  spirit,  in  which  there  should  be 
no  thought  whatever  of  retaliation,  no  lurking  idea  that 
one  had  a  right  to  withhold  forgiveness. 


THE  UNMERCIFUL  SERVANT  77 

The  Sin  of  the  Unfoegiving  Spirit 

The  most  astonishing  thing  in  this  parable  is  its  central' 
point,  that  to  cherish  an  unforgiving  spirit  is  sin.  It  was 
an  astonishing  teaching  at  that  time.  To  be  unforgiving. 
was  not  regarded  as  an  oii'ense,  certainly  not  as  a  grave  sin. 
The  teaching  is  to-day  just  as  capable  of  creating  a  revolu- 
tion when  carried  out  into  practical  daily  life.  "It  is  easy 
enough  to  accept  dead  truths  or  blunt  ones/'  and  it  is  easy ' 
enough  to  believe  in  a  vague,  general  way  that  a  forgiving' 
disposition  is  a  fine  thing.  Most  people  do.  But  actually 
to  believe  that  to  have  a  harsh,  unforgiving  disposition,  to 
cherish  a  grudge,  or  a  desire  to  "get  even,"  to  be  mean 
and  unmerciful  or  stern  and  hard,  is  sin,  as  truly  as  any 
other  kind  of  sin  can  be,  is  quite  a  different  thing.  If  such 
a  working  conviction  controlled  all  men,  it  would  entirely 
change  life  about  us.  But  that  is  just  exactly  what  this 
parable  reveals.  The  enormity  of  the  guilt  of  the  man  who  » 
carries  an  unmerciful  spirit  out  into  his  relations  with  men 
is  vividly  flashed  forth  in  the  story  of  the  servant,  a  col- 
lector of  taxes  or  some  such  high  official,  who  owed  an 
amount  of  about  twelve  million  dollars  and  who  had  it 
graciously  forgiven  because  he  could  not  pay  it,  but  who 
refused  even  to  grant  an  extension  of  time  on  a  debt  of 
seventeen  dollars  due  to  himself  and  threw  his  debtor  into 
prison.  Then  we  read  that  the  lord  of  that  servant  was 
angry  and  cast  him  into  jail  for  life,  an  action  which » 
clearly  indicates  how  great  a  sin  an  unmerciful  spirit  is  in 
God's  sight.  Forgiveness  and  mercy  in  our  relations  with 
each  other  are  not  matters  of  choice,  but  of  necessity.  We  * 
never  have  any  right  to  refuse  forgiveness,  but,  in  view  of 
the  infinite  degree  of  mercy  we  have  all  received  from 
God,  we  have  the  duty  of  extending  it. 

No  teaching  touches  life  more  nearly  at  its  center  than 
this  concerning  the  necessity  of  the  merciful  forgiving 
spirit.  Its  field  of  operation  is  the  busy  daily  round  of 
trade,  of  the  thronged  market  place,  of  social  life.  The  * 
affronts  we  daily  receive,  the  pressure  of  competition,  the 
intended  injuries  and  unconscious  slights — these  things 
endlessly  repeated  make  an  enormous  drain  on  a  man's 


78      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

fund  of  good  will,  his  evenness  of  disposition,  his  readiness 
to  forgive.  How  is  he  to  meet  them?  How  is  he  to  keep 
in  the  full  stream  of  crowded  life  and  still  retain  the 
merciful  nature  with  no  place  for  retaliation,  which  must 
characterize  the  member  of  the  kingdom  of  God? 

"Heavenly  Harmonies  for  Earthly  Living" 

The  same  law  of  gravitation  which  holds  the  planets  in 
poise  as  they  swing  in  their  courses  holds  the  little  grain 
of  dust  floating  in  the  air  in  position  as  well.  All  through 
his  life  Jesus  emphasizes  the  truth  that  the  principles 
which  control  the  action  of  God  are  the  principles  which 
should  control  the  action  of  his  children.  He  here  empha- 
sizes that  truth  in  respect  to  forgiveness.  "Ereely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give" — that  is  the  principle.  The  unbought 
divine  forgiveness  of  God  is  a  "heavenly  harmony  for 
earthly  living." 

Human  actions  are  to  be  truly  seen  and  weighed  only 
when  set  against  a  divine  background.  Thoughtless  in- 
gratitude appears  in  its  true  character  only  when  set 
against  divine  bounty.  An  unforgiving  spirit  in  men  is 
seen  at  its  true  guilt  when  contrasted  Avith  the  forgiving 
love  of  God.  It  is  just  that  divine  background  of  mercy 
by  which  every  man's  life  must  be  judged  which  this  parable 
shows  us.  The  forgiveness  of  sins  on  the  part  of  God  is 
a  free  gift  of  boundless  measure.  That  is  represented  by 
the  immense  size  of  the  servant's  debt.  He  could  never 
have  paid  it,  even  though  he  did  boastfully  promise  to  pay 
all.  Eelease  from  the  debt  could  never  have  been  pur- 
chased by  any  service  of  his.  If  he  does  not  serve  in 
prison  all  his  days,  it  is  simply  by  the  free  grace  of  his 
Lord. 

The  Unmerciful  Servant — United  States  Edition 

The  eifect  of  this  mercy  of  God  toward  men  ought  to  be 
to  arouse  in  them  a  magnanimous  and  merciful  spirit 
toward  their  fellow  men.  Indeed,  such  has  been  the  effect 
historically,  and  it  is  so  to-day.  The  Christian  revelation 
of  God  has  been  the  great  fountain  head  of  the  stream 
of  mercy,  humanity,  and  forgiveness  which  is  blessing  the 


THE  UNMERCIFUL  SERVANT  79 

world  to-day.  Part  of  the  Christian  appeal  for  mercy  has 
been  very  beautifully  expressed  by  Shakespeare  in  the  words 
of  Portia  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice, 

"Earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's 
When  mercy  seasons  justice.  Therefore,  Jew, 
Though  justice  be  thy  plea,  consider  this — 
That  in  the  course  of  justice  none  of  us 
Should  see  salvation.    We  do  pray  for  mercy; 
And  that  same  prayer  doth  teach  us  all  to  render 
The  deeds  of  mercy." 

Yet  there  is  still  to-day  a  searching  truth  and  timeliness 
to  the  parable.  Consider  the  following  common  cases 
familiar  to  all  of  us.  Here  is  a  member  of  Christ's  church 
who  has  not  been  "on  speaking  terms"  with  one  of  his 
neighbors  for  a  long  time  but  has  harbored  unforgiving 
resentment  against  him  for  years.  Perhaps  he  even  extends 
his  unforgiving  aversion  to  all  the  members  of  his  neigh- 
bor's family.  Does  not  almost  every  community  have  some 
such  case  of  "hard  feeling"?  How  about  the  man  who  is 
simply  known  as  "shrewd,"  hard  as  flint,  close-fisted,  "a 
bad  man  to  hold  a  mortgage  against  you"  ?  Isn't  he  an  "un- 
merciful servant"  ?  Take  the  man  who  has  had  many  strong 
safeguards  on  the  way  of  life — good  heredity  and  train- 
ing and  circumstances  and  who  is  stern  and  severe  in  his 
judgment  of  others  who  have  not  had  all  these  advantages, 
and  is  quick  to  call  them  "worthless."  Are  we  not  all  "un- 
merciful servants"  when  we  form  unsympathetic  estimates 
of  the  foreigners  in  the  United  States,  forgetting  both  the 
handicap  many  of  them  have  had  and  the  exceptional  ad- 
vantages we  have  had?  Have  we  not,  as  members  of  the 
state,  been  guilty  of  the  same  kind  of  action  as  the  un- 
merciful servant,  when  we  commit  offenders  to  jail  and 
give  them  no  real  opportunity  to  reform?  The  sin  of  the 
unmerciful  spirit  appears  to  be  particularly  shameful  when 
it  is  contrasted  with  the  mercy  shown  to  the  one  committing 
it  by  his  fellows.  Take  the  all  too  common  case  of  a 
business  man  who  adopts  an  entirely  different  attitude  to 
his  debtors  and  creditors.  To  the  creditors  he  is  pleading 
for  rebates,  extensions  of  time,  and  receiving  them;  to  his 
debtors  he  is  pushing  collections  to  the  very  limit,  making 


80      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

no  exteusion  of  time  and  taking  no  excuses.  Or  take  a 
man  whose  irascible  temper  is  a  sore  trial  to  his  family  and 
friends.  They  have  borne  with  him  patiently.  Yet  he 
is  easily  irritated  with  the  shortcomings  of  others  and  does 
not  extend  to  them  the  patient  charity  which  he  has  re- 

>  ceived  all  his  life.  "Think  over  all  that  people  have  had  to 
endure  in  you;  remember  the  patience  and  forgiveness  of 
your  parents,  the  way  your  friends  have  overlooked  your 
blunders  and  ill  nature;  consider  how  your  hope  of  any 
chance  to  retrieve  past  mistakes  in  your  moral  life  rests 
on  God's  mercy  and  willingness  to  pardon.  Then  think 
how  mean  it  is  to  cherish  grudges  against  those  who  wrong 

^  you*'  (Fosdick). 

"The  High  Cost  of  Hating" 

By  cherishing  an  unforgiving  spirit  we  shut  out  the  pos- 
sibility of  God's  forgiveness.  In  the  quaint  language  of 
Lord  Herbert,  "He  who  cannot  forgive  others  breaks  the 
bridge  over  which  he  must  pass."  An  unforgiving  Chris- 
tian is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  Unwillingness  on  our  part 
to  forgive  is  evidence  that  we  have  not  been  forgiven  by 
God,  according  to  the  plain  words  of  Jesus :  "If  ye  forgive 
not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses." 

The  mercy  we  show  to  others  is  to  be  the  measure  of  the 
mercy  we  ask  of  God.  Augustus  Hare  says :  "Conceive  an 
unforgiving  man  praying  to  God  Most  High  to  forgive  him 
his  debts  as  he  forgives  his  debtors.  .  .  .  'Deal  with  me, 
I  beseech  thee,  even  as  I  deal  with  my  neighbor.  He  hath 
not  offended  me  one  tenth,  one  hundredth  part  as  much  as 
I  have  offended  thee;  but  he  has  offended  me  very  griev- 
ously, and  I  cannot  forgive  him.  ...  I  remember  and 
treasure  up  every  little  trifle  which  shows  how  badly  he  has 
behaved  toward  me.  Deal  with  me,  I  beseech  thee,  0  Lord, 
as  I  deal  with  him.'  ...  Is  not  the  very  sound  of  it 
enough  to  make  one's  blood  run  cold?  Yet  this  is  just 
the  prayer  which  the  unforgiving  man  offers  up,  every 
time  he  repeats  the  Lord's  Prayer!"  Have  you  ever 
thought  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  this  light  ?  Can  you  expect 
forgiveness  while  you  refuse  to  grant  it? 


THE  UNMERCIFUL  SERVANT  81 

By  an  unforgiving  spirit  we  shut  out  the  possibility  of 
happiness.  Happiness  depends  far  more  on  the  quietness 
and  peace  of  a  man's  spirit  than  on  any  external  conditions 
whatever.  No  one  can  carry  a  feeling  of  unrelenting  bit- 
terness against  another  without  paying  a  heavy  price  for 
it  in  the  disturbed  content  of  his  own  heart.  Can  you 
give  out  of  your  own  experience  any  of  the  effects  of  carry- 
ing an  unforgiving  animosity  toward  anyone?  Have  you 
observed  its  effects  on  another  person?  What  are  they? 
Abraham  Lincoln  said,  "No  man  resolved  to  make  the  most 
of  himself  can  spare  the  time  for  personal  contention. 
Still  less  can  he  afford  to  take  all  the  consequences,  includ- 
ing the  vitiating  of  his  temper  and  loss  of  self-control." 

An  unforgiving  spirit  shuts  the  door  upon  the  highest 
character.  An  unforgiving  man  cannot  have  a  character 
which  resembles  that  of  God  or  live  in  fellowship  with  him. 
Ask  yourself  this  question  honestly:  What  kind  of  a 
memory  have  I?  Is  it  one  that  retains  the  slights  and 
injuries  which  have  been  done  to  me,  and  reflections  which 
have  been  made  on  me?  Or  does  it  act  like  a  sieve  and 
allow  those  injuries  to  pass  on,  retaining  rather  a  sharp 
impression  of  the  benefits  conferred  on  me  and  kindnesses 
done?  Everyone  creates  his  own  memory  in  this  respect. 
Which  kind  have  you  created? 

How  TO  AcQUiEE  A  Merciful  Spikit 

The  unmerciful  servant  had  little  realization  of  the 
greatness  of  his  debt,  or  he  could  never  have  so  violently 
pressed  his  claim  for  seventeen  dollars  when  he  had 
just  been  forgiven  a  debt  of  twelve  millions.  The  surest 
means  of  acquiring  a  forgiving  spirit  is  to  realize  vividly 
the  greatness  of  God's  forgiving  mercy  to  us.  Real  honest 
knowledge  of  self  is  essential  if  we  are  to  realize  our  debt 
to  the  forgiveness  of  God.  Such  knowledge  is  rare.  The 
man  who  has  a  keen  sense  of  his  own  shortcomings  and 
defects  will  be  more  lenient  to  others.  It  is  pride  which 
is  inexorable  in  its  hard  judgments.  Men  fail  to  see 
themselves  as  they  really  are  because  they  measure  them- 
selves by  custom  and  the  average  standards  that  prevail 
in  the  community.     Or,  worse  still  and  quite  commonly. 


82      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

they  measure  themselves  by  their  inferiors,  and  because 
there  are  people  several  degrees  below  them  morally  they 
reckon  themselves  saints.  "Well,  I  guess  I  am  not  the 
worst  in  town,  by  a  long  shot,'*  men  will  say,  as  though 
that  were  much  to  their  credit.  All  this  sadly  lowers  a 
man's  power  of  true  self-estimate.  What  ought  to  be  the 
standard  by  which  we  judge  of  our  actions  ? 

For  this  reason  men  need  to  keep  Christ's  example  con- 
tinually before  them.  No  one  can  truly  measure  himself 
by  Jesus'  life  and  spirit  and  retain  any  pride.  Our  sup- 
posed superiorities  dwindle  when  set  alongside  his  tower- 
ing greatness.  Then  we  see  our  own  limitations,  feel  our 
own  need  of  merciful  judgment,  and  go  out  from  his 
presence,  ready  to  be  more  forgiving  to  those  who  have 
offended  us,  more  kindly  and  sjTnpathetic  in  our  estimates 
and  judgments.  "Be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  tender- 
hearted, forgiving  each  other,  even  as  God  also  in  Christ 
forgave  you"  (Eph.  4.  32).  Not  the  smallest  part  of  this 
influence  is  Jesus'  own  example  of  the  merciful,  magnani- 
mous spirit.  He  loved  his  enemies,  did  good  to  those  who 
hated  him,  blessed  those  that  cursed  him,  and  prayed  for 
those  who  despitefully  used  him,  even  on  the  cross  praying 
for  his  murderers,  "Father,  forgive  them;  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do." 

The  Everyday  Pkoblem 

Daily  life  makes  large  drains  on  the  forgiving  spirit. 
Think  over  the  injuries  done  to  you  which  you  find  it  hard 
to  forgive.  Sometimes  it  is  financial  offenses  that  are  most 
felt,  the  competitor  who  takes  away  trade,  or  whose  busi- 
ness grows  faster  than  ours,  or  who  causes  us  loss.  Some- 
times, strange  to  say,  the  bitterest  resentment  is  felt  by 
men  against  those  who  differ  from  them  on  some  political 
or  religious  question.  Others  feel  most  an  injury  to  pride, 
some  disparagement  or  patronage  or  slight.  What  offenses 
do  you  find  it  hardest  to  forgive  ?  No  matter  of  what  sort 
the  injury  is,  this  parable  gives  us  a  simple  rule  for  dealing 
with  it :  take  the  most  grievous  injury  and  the  one  hardest 
to  forgive  and  measure  it  with  your  own  need  of  forgiveness 
from  God. 


THE  UNMERCIFUL  SERVANT  83 

A  Law  or  thb  Kingdom 

By  its  very  nature,  a  merciful  disposition  is  a  unifying 
force.  It  reduces  the  harsh  points  of  separation  between 
people,  between  classes,  between  nations.  It  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  Kingdom.  If  society  is  to  be  held  together 
in  peace  and  good  will,  no  outer  force  of  law  or  police  can 
do  it.  It  must  be  held  together  by  the  inward  disposition 
of  each  member  of  it  to  forgive  and  be  on  terms  of  broth- 
erly kindness  with  every  other  member. 

As  illustrations  of  the  necessity  of  this  law  in  national 
affairs  consider  the  problems  of  establishing  world  peace 
and  industrial  peace.  To  reach  peaceful  and  just  relations 
between  nation  and  nation,  the  spirit  of  revenge  and  of 
cherishing  old  grudges  must  be  overcome  and  put  away. 
No  peace  between  nation  and  nation  is  secure  when  one 
harbors  against  the  other  a  feeling  of  unforgiving  ani- 
mosity for  injuries  done  or  cherishes  a  desire  for  retaliation. 
When  that  hard  spirit  of  ill  will  controls,  the  most  elabo- 
rate peace  treaties  are  in  reality  mere  "scraps  of  paper." 
The  Christian  spirit  of  forgiveness,  of  mutual  forbearance, 
of  charitable  and  fair  judgment  is  the  only  secure  founda- 
tion for  peace.  The  same  is  true  of  industrial  peace.  As 
long  as  employer  and  employee  stand  arrayed  against  each 
other,  each  cherishing  the  remembrance  of  the  wrong  the 
other  has  done  to  him,  the  possibility  of  that  animosity 
breaking  out  into  open  conflict  is  held  open.  The  only 
way  in  which  both  can  advance  to  a  working  harmony  that 
shall  bring  about  justice  to  all  is  by  overcoming  the  spirit 
of  ill  will.  Both  must  let  the  determining  consideration  in 
all  questions  be,  not  the  wrongs  of  the  past,  but  the  rights 
of  all  in  the  present  day  and  the  largest  good  of  all  in 
the  future.  For  such  tasks  there  is  no  adequate  force  on 
earth  but  the  gospel  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ. 

Fob  Reflection  and  Discussion 

How  does  Christian  forgiveness  differ  from  mere  indiffer- 
ence to  offenses  against  us?  How  from  fear  of  protest? 
What  is  the  moral  effect  of  our  indifference  or  fear  on  the 
offender  ? 


81      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

Can  a  person  really  pray  and  at  the  same  time  eherish 
bitterness  ?  Can  you  hate  a  man  after  sincerely  praying 
for  him  ?    Have  you  ever  tried  praying  for  your  enemies  ? 

What  offenses  do  you  find  it  hardest  to  forgive  ?  Is  there 
any  offense  too  great  to  be  forgiven  ? 

What  is  the  application  of  this  parable  to  our  estimate  and 
treatment  of  the  immigrant  in  the  United  States  ?  What 
is  its  application  to  our  treatment  of  the  criminal  and 
prison  reform? 

What  effect  does  carrying  a  "grudge"  against  another  per- 
son have?    Can  you  describe  its  effect  from  experience? 

What  effect  has  Christianity  had  on  revenge,  feuds,  re- 
taliation ? 

What  is  the  attitude  we  should  take  toward  those  offenders 
who  neither  ask  nor  desire  our  forgiveness  ?  Does  Jesus* 
example  throw  any  light  on  this  question  ?  For  instance, 
his  words  on  the  cross  ? 


CHAPTER   IX 
THE  TALENTS 

Matthew  25.  14-30 

"For  the  case  is  that  of  a  man  going  abroad,  who  summoned 
his  servants  and  handed  over  his  property  to  them;  to  one 
he  gave  twelve  hundred  pounds,  to  another  five  hundred,  and 
to  another  two  hundred  and  fifty;  each  got  according  to  his 
capacity.  Then  the  man  went  abroad.  The  servant  who 
had  got  the  twelve  hundred  pounds  at  once  went  and  traded 
with  them,  making  another  twelve  hundred.  Similarly  the 
servant  who  had  got  the  five  hundred  pounds  made  another 
five  hundred.  But  the  servant  who  had  got  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  went  off  and  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  and 
hid  his  master's  money.  Now  a  long  time  afterwards  the 
master  of  those  servants  came  back  and  settled  accounts  with 
them.  Then  the  servant  who  had  got  the  twelve  hundred 
pounds  came  forward,  bringing  twelve  hundred  more;  he  said, 
'You  handed  me  twelve  hundred  pounds,  sir;  here  I  have 
gained  another  twelve  hundred.'  His  master  said  to  him, 
'Capital,  you  excellent  and  trusty  servant!  You  have  been 
trusty  in  charge  of  a  small  sum:  I  will  put  you  in  charge 
of  a  large  sum.  Come  and  share  your  master's  feast.'  Then 
the  servant  with  the  five  hundred  pounds  came  forward.  He 
said,  'You  handed  me  five  hundred  pounds,  sir;  here  I  have 
gained  another  five  hundred.'  His  master  said  to  him,  'Capi- 
tal, you  excellent  and  trusty  servant!  You  have  been  trusty 
in  charge  of  a  small  sum:  I  will  put  you  in  charge  of  a  large 
sum.  Come  and  share  your  master's  feast.'  Then  the  servant 
who  had  got  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  came  forward. 
He  said,  'I  knew  you  were  a  hard  man,  sir,  reaping  where  you 
never  sowed  and  gathering  where  you  never  winnowed.  So 
I  was  afraid;  I  went  and  hid  your  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  in  the  earth.  There's  your  money!'  His  master  said 
to  him  in  reply,  'You  rascal,  you  idle  servant!  You  knew,  did 
you,  that  I  reap  where  I  have  never  sowed  and  gather  where 
I  have  never  winnowed!  Well  then,  you  should  have  handed 
my  money  to  the  bankers  and  I  would  have  got  my  capital 
with  interest  when  I  came  back.  Take  therefore  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  away  from  him,  give  it  to  the  servant 
who  had  the  twelve  hundred. 

85 


86      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

For  to  ereryone  who  has  shall  more  be  giren  and  richly 

given; 
but  from  him  who  has  nothing,  even  what  he  has  shall 
be  taken. 
Throw  the  good-for-nothing  servant  into  the   darkness  out- 
side; there  men  will  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth." 


The  Tkagedy  of  Sloth 

When  we  confront  such  a  vivid  portrayal  of  human  life 
as  we  find  in  the  Parable  of  the  Talents,  we  can  well  ap- 
preciate two  words  of  Scripture  about  Jesus: — "He  knew 
what  was  in  man";  "never  man  so  spake."  Serious  and 
thought-provoking  as  it  must  have  been  on  the  solemn  day 
when  it  first  came  from  Jesus'  lips,  it  is  just  as  arresting 
and  searching  a  warning  to-day.  For  it  deals  with  one  of 
the  most  insistent  problems  of  life — ^with  energy  and  faith- 
fulness in  the  use  of  our  abilities;  with  plain  everyday 
fidelity  to  duty.  It  deals  with  it  both  on  the  positive 
and  negative  side.  It  portrays  the  splendor  and  high  re- 
ward of  Christian  energy.  It  pictures  also  the  tragedy  of 
sloth. 

The  warning  sounded  in  the  Parable  of  the  Virgins  is 
against  negligence.  Here  it  is  against  indolence.  They 
are  both  perils  to  the  religious  life  and  to  the  Kingdom,  bufc 
they  are  perils  of  a  different  kind.  Trench  suggests  that 
the  Parable  of  the  Virgins  shows  the  dangers  of  thought- 
less overconfidence ;  that  of  the  Talents  shows  the  danger 
of  underconfidence  and  paralyzing  fear.  "The  virgins 
counted  it  too  easy  a  thing  to  serve  the  Lord.  The  man 
with  one  talent  counted  it  too  hard." 

The  Splendor  of  Christian  Energy 

In  the  strongest  possible  way  Jesus  in  this  parable  com- 
mends and  applauds  the  virtue  of  energy  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.  Indeed,  in  this  we  have  an  instance,  in  striking 
form,  of  an  interest  and  emphasis  which  runs  all  through 
the  parables.    A  recent  writer^  has  pointed  out  how  many 

» T.  R.  Glover.  The  Jesus  of  History,  p.  130. 


THE  TALENTS  87 

of  the  parables  turn  on  energy,  showing  how  intensely 
Jesus  admired  energy,  and  decision,  and  what  a  high  place 
he  gave  to  them  in  his  valuation  of  human  qualities.  "These 
are  the  things  that  Jesus  admires — in  the  widow  who  will 
have  justice  (Luke  18.  2) ;  in  the  virgins  who  thought 
^  ahead  and  bought  extra  oil  (Matt.  25.  4) ;  in  the  vigorous 
\  man  who  found  the  treasure  and  made  sure  of  it  (Matt.  13. 
44) ;  in  the  friend  at  midnight,  who  hammered,  hammered, 
hammered,  till  he  got  his  loaves  (Luke  11.  8) .  Even  the  bad 
steward  he  commends  because  he  definitely  put  his  mind  on 
his  situation  (Luke  16.  8).''  How  does  this  emphasis  of 
Jesus  on  the  high  value  and  need  of  energetic  action  cor- 
respond to  your  experience?  From  which  cause  does  the 
usefulness  of  men  suffer  more,  ignorance  of  what  is  needed 
or  lack  of  will  and  energy  to  work  for  it  ?  We  are  fond  of 
singing,  "Like  a  mighty  army  moves  the  Church  of  God.*' 
But  does  it  ?  In  some  places  it  moves  more  like  a  formal  pro- 
cession, a  Memorial  Day  parade  perhaps.  Or,  if  it  is  an 
army,  its  members  stand  like  a  company  of  soldiers  which 
has  received  the  command,  "At  ease !"  with  all  their  guns 
at  "parade  rest.**  Think  of  the  various  tasks  of  the  King- 
dom in  your  community,  all  the  movements  and  associa- 
tions for  civic  and  moral  and  religious  welfare.  Which 
retards  their  work  and  progress  more,  the  opposition  of 
their  opponents  or  the  languid  indifference  of  their 
"friends"  ?  Study  the  parable  with  the  idea  of  finding  the 
cause  and  cure  of  this  arch  enemy  of  the  Kingdom. 

A  Cboss  Section  of  Life 

The  parable  is  a  true  picture  of  life  in  its  representation 
of  the  master  leaving  with  his  three  servants  three  different 
amounts  ranging  from  one  talent  (of  the  value  of  about 
twelve  hundred  dollars)  up  to  ten  talents.  In  no  other 
way  could  a  world  where  people  vary  so  greatly  in  native 
endowment,  wealth,  training,  opportunity  be  fairly  repre- 
sented. If  we  look  only  at  the  inequalities  of  distribution 
of  natural  capacity,  environment,  and  opportunity,  it  seems 
to  be  unjust.  The  truth  which  Jesus  makes  clear  here  must 
always  be  remembered  in  connection  with  the  unequal 
division  of  ability  and  means.     In  God's  sight  a  man*s 


88      STUDIES  m  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

character  and  his  real  achievement  in  life  are  determined 
by  the  fidelity  and  energy  with  which  he  has  used  the 
abilities  with  which  he  is  endowed.  The  servant  who 
gained  ten  pounds  did  not  receive  a  whit  more  honor  or 
reward  than  the  one  who  had  gained  five.  Each  received 
the  same  eager  and  hearty  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant  V 

"All  service  ranks  the  same  with  God.  There  is  no 
first  or  last."  He  judges  by  our  unseen  loyalties  and 
fidelities.  Tliis  is  a  commonplace  to  one  familiar  with 
Jesus'  teaching.  But  it  is  one  of  those  coinmonplaces 
which,  if  we  only  believed  them,  would  change  the  face 
of  the  world  overnight.  A  vast  amount  of  somnolent  self- 
satisfaction  would  speedily  disappear  if  men  earnestly  be- 
lieved that  they  would  be  judged  in  exact  proportion  to 
their  use  of  their  abilities  and  means.  Two  men  may  be 
about  alike  as  far  as  their  actual  deeds  are  concerned. 
But  one  may  be  coming  up  from  ignorance  and  coarse  sur- 
roundings to  a  higher  level  of  living,  while  the  other  is 
slipping  down  from  the  advantages  of  education  and  cul- 
ture to  a  level  of  brutal  dissipation.  To  the  outward  eye 
they  seem  to  be  just  alike.  In  reality,  in  God's  sight,  the 
one  slipping  down  is  far  more  blameworthy  than  the  other. 
Remember  Jesus'  words  to  the  startled  Pharisees  who  had 
had  high  spiritual  i3rivilege :  "The  publicans  and  the  har- 
lots go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you."  Think  of 
the  advantages  of  birth,  surroundings,  friends,  education, 
spiritual  influences  which  are  among  the  "talents"  given 
you,  and  which  must  be  weighed  in  determining  your  worth 
or  slackness.  Are  men  accustomed  to  overestimate  or  un- 
derestimate their  advantages  ?  their  abilities  ?    Why  ? 

The  Slackek  Who  Hid  His  Talent 

The  main  point  of  the  parable,  of  course,  has  to  do  with 
the  man  who  brought  no  gain  to  his  Lord  on  his  return. 
It  is  his  failure  and  his  fate  which  carry  the  warning 
to  us.  More  nearly  than  either  of  the  other  two  servants, 
his  situation  corresponds  to  that  of  the  great  majority  of 
us,  with  our  small  amounts  of  ability  and  wealth. 

It  is  no  accident  that  the  man  who  buried  his  talent  was 


THE  TALENTS  89 

the  servant  who  had  only  one  and  not  the  one  who  had 
five  or  ten.  The  temptation  to  bury  our  abilities  and  fail 
to  use  them  energetically  comes  with  peculiar  force  to  those 
of  us  who  have  only  an  ordinary  amount.  The  man  who  is 
richly  endowed  in  ability  or  wealth  has  his  own  keen  temp- 
tations. He  has  the  temptation  to  be  wasteful  or  selfish. 
But  he  does  not  have  the  temptation  of  not  using  his  powers 
at  all. 

The  parable  fairly  shouts  its  warning  to  the  man  who 
hides  his  talent  from  use.  Notice  that  it  is  not  the  man 
who  "wastes  his  substance  in  riotous  living"  who  is  under 
condemnation  here.  The  spending  of  wealth,  of  physical 
strength,  and  of  the  finer  possibilities  in  coarse  physical 
dissipation  is  a  sin  with  a  tragedy  peculiar  to  itself.  But 
that  is  not  the  kind  of  sin  this  unprofitable  servant  repre- 
sents. There  is  no  suggestion  that  he  spent  a  penny  of 
his  lord's  wealth  on  pleasure  for  himself;  no  hint  that 
in  any  way  he  was  given  to  coarse  indulgence.  He  was 
quite  respectable.  He  simply  failed  to  use  his  talent  for 
his  master's  benefit.  But  that  failure  was  enough  to  cast 
him  into  outer  darkness. 

This  message  comes  to  those  who,  being  equipped  for 
activity,  yet  hide  from  active  service;  to  the  man  who  has 
no  time  to  serve  on  committees;  to  the  business  man  who 
will  not  give  the  value  of  his  business  ability  to  the  church 
or  charity ;  to  the  suburbanite  who  answers  every  request  for 
service  with  an  irritated,  "I  moved  out  here  to  rest";  to 
the  college  graduate  who  will  give  no  effort  to  the  higher 
life  of  the  community;  to  the  woman  of  experience  who 
might  be  a  force  iji  the  life  of  young  girls,  but  who  "can't 
be  bothered" ;  to  the  man  whose  answer  to  appeals  for  con- 
crete service  in  the  church  is  "I  have  no  talent  for  that  sort 
of  thing" ;  to  the  large  and  inglorious  company  of  shirkers 
whom  no  man  can  number.  How  much  Jesus'  work  in  his 
life  time  was  retarded  by  such  merely  negative  goodness ! 
How  much  the  Kingdom  is  held  back  to-day  by  it !  Think 
of  the  man  who  is  an  abstainer  from  liquor,  hnt  who  will 
do  nothing  to  fight  the  liquor  traffic;  who  is  pure  in  his 
own  home  life,  but  will  not  exert  himself  to  clean  up  con- 
ditions which  are  an  immoral  influence  in  the  town;  who 


90      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

is  himself  a  Christian  believer,  but  who  will  not  take  off 
his  coat  and  roll  up  his  sleeves  in  an  effort  to  extend  Chris- 
tianity in  his  own  neighborhood.  Are  such  people  any  dif- 
ferent from  the  man  who  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  and 
buried  his  talent  there  ? 


"I  Was  Afraii 

In  these  words  of  excuse  the  man  who  hid  his  talent, 
gives  voice  to  the  chief  reason  for  the  waste  of  ability  and 
means  and  the  resulting  feebleness  and  uselessness  of  mul- 
titudes of  lives.  It  is  frequently  a  miserable  fear  of  medioc- 
rity. People  dislike  to  undertake  tasks  in  which  they  can 
have  only  ordinary  success  or  in  which  their  performance 
wiU  not  be  startling  or  brilliant.  Their  excuse  is  that  they 
have  no  ability  of  any  kind.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the 
parable  does  not  recognize  people  without  talent  or  ability. 
"God  Almighty  has  no  time  to  make  nobodies,"  Spurgeon 
is  reported  to  have  said  to  one  who  sought  to  evade  some 
proffered  task  on  the  ground  that  he  was  nobody!  Yet 
how  many  make  substantially  the  same  excuse  that  they 
can  do  nothing,  when  what  they  truly  mean  is  that  they 
will  do  nothing,  because  their  abilities  are  not  of  a  dazzling 
order.  The  Master  needs  people  who  will  sacrifice  this 
childish  pride  to  him  and  his  cause,  and  repeat  from  their 
hearts  the  old,  old  formula  of  Edward  Everett  Hale:  "1 
am  only  one,  but  I  am  one.  I  cannot  do  everything,  but 
I  can  do  something.  And  I  will  not  let  what  I  cannot  do 
interfere  with  what  I  can  do."  Which  represents  your 
usual  attitude  to  requests  for  service  and  help,  these  words 
of  Dr.  Hale's  or  the  common  reply,  "0,  no  !  I  couldn't  pos- 
sibly do  it.    I'm  no  good  at  that  sort  of  thing"? 

We  are  morbidly  afraid  of  mistakes.  And  that  cowardly 
fear  of  a  blunder  or  appearing  a  little  awkward  has  kept 
thousands  of  men  from  doing  a  world  of  good  while  making 
a  few  mistakes.  The  ability  of  most  men  for  public  prayer 
or  public  witnessing  for  Christ  is  not  large.  They  are 
afraid  of  saying  the  wrong  thing,  and  as  a  result  they  say 
nothing  and  the  cause  of  Christ,  which  would  have  gained 
immensely  by  the  simple  sincere  word,  suffers  irreparable 
damage.    Is  this  not  a  parallel  case  to  the  man  who  buried 


THE  TALENTS  91 

his  talent  in  the  ground?    Eemember,  "the  man  who  never 
inade  any  mistakes  never  made  anything  else." 

The  Tykanny  of  Petty  Pride 

Pride  is  the  real  root  of  the  trouble.  Both  forms  of 
fear  mentioned  above,  having  the  outward  appearance  of 
humility,  are  forms  of  pride.  "As  long  as  I  haven't  been 
given  five  talents,  but  have  been  put  off  with  a  miserable 
little  one,  I  won't  do  anything  with  it."  The  man  with 
one  talent  showed  plainly  in  the  excuses  he  offered  just 
what  was  the  matter  with  him.  He  had  been  thinking 
of  himself  all  the  time.  Study  that  excuse  of  his.  He 
never  gets  his  eye  off  himself  for  a  moment.  It  is  his 
own  justification,  his  own  safety,  which  has  occupied 
him,  never  the  profit  he  desired  to  make  for  his  master. 
The  only  cure  for  this  paralyzing  self-consciousness  is  to 
learn  to  care  about  those  we  can  help.  If  we  really  love 
and  truly  want  to  help,  we  will  not  stop  to  ask  whether 
we  are  getting  enough  publicity  or  whether  some  one  else 
is  doing  more  than  we.  Think  of  the  tremendous  energies 
which  could  be  let  loose  for  the  kingdom  of  God  if  people 
(tould  only  forego  the  gratification  of  their  little  pride  of 
reputation  and  throw  themselves  into  the  nearest  task 
that  pleads  for  their  help  1  While  you  are  thinking  of 
this  vast  amount  of  energy  consider  this  also.  Is  any  of 
it  locked  up  in  you?  Is  there  anything  which  you  are  not 
doing  because  it  does  not  seem  particularly  important  or 
honorable,  or  because  you  cannot  do  it  in  a  brilliant 
manner  ? 

Jealousy  of  others  has  much  to  do  with  making  slackers. 
No  doubt  this  entered  into  the  action  of  the  man  with  one 
talent  in  the  parable.  Many  think  to  show  their  qualifica- 
tion for  the  position  of  one  above  them  by  neglecting  the 
one  they  have.  Jealousy  is  another  form  of  the  same 
blighting  pride.  Too  often  the  work  and  usefulness  of 
a  local  church  is  halted  by  the  jealous  pride  of  some  who, 
like  Caesar,  would  rather  be  first  in  some  little  Alpine  vil- 
lage than  second  or  third  in  Eome.  They  will  serve  as  long 
as  they  are  directing.  They  are  quite  willing  to  be  brig- 
adier-generals in  the  army  of  the  Lord  but  cannot  bring 


93   STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

themselves  to  enlist  as  a  private.  How  may  envy  and 
jealousy  of  another's  superior  ability  or  position  be  over- 
come? 

*'If  Things  Were  Only  Different'' 

Perhaps  the  commonest  form  of  burying  our  talent  is 
idly  and  uselessly  to  think  and  talk  about  what  we  would 
do  if  we  were  in  other  conditions  or  had  larger  oppor- 
tunities, doing  nothing  meanwhile  with  the  conditions  and 
opportunities  we  actually  have.  It  is  a  cheap  and  popular 
way  of  excusing  an  inexcusable  indolence.  All  who  make 
such  futile  excuses  are  lineal  descendants  of  the  man  who 
hid  his  lord's  money.  One  man  will  bewail  his  lack  of 
wealth  and  imagine  how  much  he  would  do  if  he  only  had 
two  thousand  dollars  instead  of  one.  Another  will  say  that 
if  he  only  had  great  abilities  he  would  achieve  great  things. 
Another  is  convinced  that  if  he  had  a  more  important  posi- 
tion instead  of  the  obscure  place  he  occupies,  or  were  in 
a  more  congenial  place  rather  than  among  the  stupid  and 
unresponsive  people  with  whom  he  lives,  he  would  render 
distinguished  service.  All  such  imaginings  are  a  delusion 
and  a  drug  to  the  conscience.  They  overlook  two  im- 
portant truths :  that  a  man's  real  achievement  is  measured 
by  the  use  made  of  what  he  has,  be  it  large  or  small ;  and 
that  the  only  sure  indication  of  what  one  would  do  with 
larger  means  or  talents  is  what  he  actuallv  does  do  with 
the  smaller  ones  which  are  his. 

The  Penalty  of  Disuse 

When  the  parable  represents  the  talent  as  taken  away 
from  the  man  who  did  not  use  it,  it  pictures  a  law  which 
holds  sway  in  the  physical,  economic,  and  intellectual  world 
as  well  as  the  spiritual.  That  the  faculty  -which  we  do 
not  invest  in  active  service  will  be  taken  from  us  is  a 
''natural  law  in  the  spiritual  world."  The  arm  which  is 
never  exercised  loses  its  strength  by  degrees  as  muscles 
and  sinews  shrink.  When  we  arise  from  a  sickness  of  only 
a  few  weeks  we  have  to  learn  to  walk  all  over  again.  In 
that  short  time  the  deadening  process  has  gone  so  far  that 
our  limbs  are  unable  to  support  us.     The  man  who  does 


THE  TALENTS  93 

not  use  his  mind,  soon  has  none  to  use,  and  must  eke  out 
a  miserable  intellectual  existence  by  borrowing  catchwords 
from  his  neighbors.  The  business  man  who  does  not  con- 
stantly get  new  business  soon  files  a  petition  in  bankruptcy. 
So  the  powers  which  God  has  given  us  fail  if  we  do  not 
exercise  them.  Nothing  can  be  sadder  than  to  watch  this 
law  operate  in  some  friend's  life.  The  capacity  for  en- 
thusiasm, the  appetite  for  spiritual  things,  the  ability  to 
see  visions,  the  energy  of  toil,  the  unselfish  spirit  of  sacri- 
fice— all  these,  the  finest  flowers  of  earth,  wither  and  droop, 
where  they  are  not  brought  to  fruitage  for  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard.  Perhaps  we  sacrifice  our  powers  on  the  altar 
of  the  pagan  gods  of  financial  success,  comfortable  ease, 
or  sodden  pleasure.  Whether  our  lives  shall  be  this  sordid 
dwindling  of  power  or  an  increase  in  usefulness  and  joy 
which  "groweth  more  and  more  even  unto  the  perfect  day" 
is  being  surely  determined  by  the  use  we  are  now  making 
of  everything  we  have. 

FoK  Reflection  and  Discussion 

What  influence  does  a  wrong  idea  of  God  have  on  our  con- 
duct? How  is  this  illustrated  by  the  man  with  one 
talent  ? 

What  is  the  reward  of  the  servants  who  had  five  and  two 
talents?  What  are  the  rewards  of  energetic  Christian 
activity  ? 

What  teachings  of  Jesus  bear  on  the  problem  of  overcom- 
ing envy  and  jealousy?  What  other  parts  of  the  Bible 
bear  on  the  same  problems? 

Is  the  common  idea  of  Jesus  always  that  of  a  man  of 
energy?  If  it  is  not,  why  not?  What  indications  can 
you  give  that  he  was  a  man  of  energy  ? 

Put  this  parable  into  terms  of  life — describe  three  business 
men  in  your  own  town,  three  farmers,  or  three  house- 
wives, who  correspond  to  the  three  servants. 

What  has  been  your  own  experience  of  the  law  of  disuse? 
Has  your  own  prayer  increased  or  decreased?  Your 
readiness  of  response  to  need?  your  willingness  to  incur 
unpopularity  ? 


94      STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

Where  does  the  church  receive  the  majority  of  its  support, 
from  the  five-talented  rich  or  the  people  of  one  talent? 
Is  there  any  talent  which  cannot  be  used  in  the  church  ? 

What  has  been  the  effect  of  Christianity  on  idleness  ?  Do 
Christian  people  really  believe  that  uselessness  is  im- 
moral ? 

How  did  Jesus  oppose  the  idea  of  God  as  a  severe  task- 
master?   See  Matthew  23.  23;  Luke  18.  12;  Mark  7.  34. 

Should  a  Christian  "go  into  politics"  ? 


\p^ 


/ 


CHAPTER   X 
THE  PHARISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN 

Luke  18.  9-14 

He  also  told  the  following  parable  to  certain  persons  who 
were  sure  of  their  own  goodness  and  looked  down  upon  every- 
body else.  "Two  men  went  up  to  pray  in  the  temple;  one 
was  a  Pharisee  and  the  other  was  a  taxgatherer.  The 
Pharisee  stood  up  and  praj[ejL-by_himself_as  follows:  'I  thank 
thee,  O  God,  I  am  not  likethe  resf'of  men,  thieves,  rogues, 
and  immoral,  or  even  like  yon  taxgatherer.  Twice  a  week 
I  fast;  on  all  my  income  I  pay  tithes.'  But  the  taxgatherer 
stood  far  away  and  would  not  lift  even  his  eyes  to  heaven, 
but  beat  his  breast,  saying,  'O  God,  have  mercy  on  me  for 
my  sins!'  I  tell  you,  he  went  home  accepted  by  God  rather 
than  the  other  man; 

for  everyone  who  uplifts  himself  will  be  humbled, 
and  he  who  humbles  himself  will  be  uplifted." 


An"  Acid  Test  of  Chaeacter  »/ 

There  is  very  little  about  a  man — actions,  manner,  or  \ 
even  physical  characteristics — which  does  not  reveal  charac-  ' 
ter.      Speech,    likes    and    dislikes,    gestures,    expressions, 
and  habits  are  all  sure  indicators  of  character  to  the  keen 
observer.    But  nothing  reveals  the  real  man  with  quite  so  \ 
bright  a  glare  as  his  private  prayers.     What  he  actually  | 
is  is  surely  revealed  when  he  prays.    The  strength  or  feeble- 
ness of  a  man's  soul,  its  glow  of  health  or  blight  of  disease, 
stands  out  unmistakably  then.    The  strongest  way  in  which  | 
Jesus  could  reveal  the  contrasted  character  of  the  Pharisee  \ 
and  publican  was  to  show  them  at  prayer.    The  parable  is 
more  than  a  parable  on  the  nature  of  prayer.    It  is  a  vivid 
study  of  the  characters  of  which  the  prayers  are  an  indica- 
tion.    It  is  a  red  light  of  warning  against  the  pitfalls  of 
hard  and  unsympathetic  pride.    It  is  a  tender  plea  for  those 

95 


v; 


96      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OE  JESUS 

fragrant  qualities  of  character  which  are  the  very  soul  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  without  which  none  can  enter  it 
— humility,  penitence,  meekness,  and  hunger  and  thirst 
I       after  righteousness. 

V  \\{      '"^^^  ^®^  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray ;  the  one  a 
'  III  Pharisee,  and  the  other  a  publican."     They  went  up  in 
"'  Jesus'  day.    They  went  up  to  church  last  Sunday.    They" 
will  be  there  again  next  Sunday.    They  live  on  our  block. 
They  walk  our  streets.     They  come  into  our  houses.    We 
see  them  everywhere  we  turn,  even  when  we  look  in  the 
'^  mirror.  Let  us  study  what  meaning  they  may  have  for  us ; 
how  they  came  to  be  what  they  were;  and,  above  all,  let  , 
us  discover  how  it  was  that,  with  so  many  good  deeds  to  ' 
his  credit,  the  Pharisee  was  nevertheless  a  thing  odious  to 
God  and  man ;  while  the  publican,  with  so  much  evil-doing 
against  him,  found  his  way  into  the  pathway  of  blessing 
and  grace. 

The  Contrast 

Tennyson  speaks  of  "the  fierce  light  that  beats  about  a 
throne."  There  is  an  even  fiercer  light  that  beats  about  the 
altar  of  prayer,  and  as  these  men  go  up  to  pra}'  it  reveals 
!  their  inmost  being,  as  by  a  very  X-ray,  to  the  One  "to  whom 
all  hearts  are  open,  all  desires  known,  and  from  whom  no 
secrets  are  hid."  Jesus  brings  out  the  contrast  between 
them  in  swift  and  telling  strokes.  There  was  a  contrast  in 
very  attitude.  The  Pharisee  "stood  and  prayed"  confidently 
and  conspicuously;  the  publican,  at  a  distance,  lowers  his 
eyes  to  the  ground  in  shame.  There  is  a  mute  eloquence 
in  the  bodily  posture  that  speaks  of  pride  or  humility.  The 
posture  represents  a  contrast  in  spirit;  the  Pharisee,  self 
satisfied — "I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men" ; 
the  publican,  "poor  in  spirit" — "me  a  sinner."  There  is 
a  glaring  contrast  in  the  prayer  itself.  The  Pharisee  asks 
nothing,  simply  delivers  himself  of  a  self-centered  imperti- 
nent soliloquy — "I  fast,"  "I  give  tithes."  The  publican 
calls  out  of  a  crushing  need.  There  is  a  difference  of  object. 
The  publican  prays  to  God;  the  Pharisee,  while  he  men- 
tions God  respectfully,  gives  his  attention  mainly  to  him- 
self and  to  his  neighbors.    And,  of  course,  the  climax  of 


THE  PHARISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN       97 

it  all  is  a  contrast  in  result:  the  Pharisee,  not  heard  of 
God,  unchanged  in  any  way;  the  publican,  "justified." 

The  Man  Who  Peayed  with  Himself 

Let  us  listen  more  closely  to  this  monologue  which  the 
Pharisee  holds  with  himself.    It  can  teach  us  much. 

With  a  keen  thrust  of  irony  Jesus  indicated  the  fatal  i 
flaw  in  the  Pharisee's  prayer  when  he  said  that  he  prayed  ' 
with  himself.    The  description  reminds  us  somewhat  of  the  ^ 

'prayer  which  has  gone  down  in  history  as  "the  most  eloquent 
prayer  ever  addressed  to  a  Boston  audience."  The  Phari- 
see's prayer  was  not  addressed  to  God  but  to  a  Jerusalem 
audience  composed  of  himself.  In  the  opening  thanksgiv- 
ing God  seems  to  be  mentioned  in  a  complimentary  re- 
mark, but  we  soon  discover  that  the  subject  and  object  of 
his  prayer  are  the  same,  himself.  We  can  hear  the  "I, 
I,  I,"  go  thumping  all  the  way  through  his  address  like 
|aflat  wheel  on  a  trolley  car. 

y"It  was  not  prayer  because  he  felt  no  need.    The  essence 

/of  prayer  is  desire.    It  expresses  a  need  agj^ voices  a  want. 

'  How  ridiculous  it  would  be  to  call  the  Pharisee's  self -coii- 
gratulation  "asking,"  "seeking,"  or  "knocking,"  the  words 
which  Jesus  used  to  describe  j)rayer! 

"Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 
Uttered  or  unexpressed; 
The  motion  of  a  hidden  fire 
That  trembles  in  the  breast." 

Notice  how  well  the  agonizing  petition  of  the  publican, 
"God,  be  thou  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  fulfils  that  descrip- 
tion of  prayer. 

"Two  men  went  up  to  pray?    Oh,  rather  say, 
One  went  to  brag,  the  other  went  to  pray." 

Self-satisfied  pride  can  never  pray.  It  is  the  climax  of  the 
spiritual  blight  which  pride  inflicts,  that  it  stifles  the  sense 
of  need  out  of  which  all  true  prayer,  communion  with  God, 
is  bom. 

The  Pharisee's  prayer  was  unneighborly,  and  so  impos- 
sible as  a  prayer,  for  all  true  prayer  is  neighborly  in  feeling. 


V. 


\ 


98      STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

The  word  "Pharisee"  means  "Separatist"  and  this  particu- 
lar one  more  than  lived  up  to  the  name.  No  "separatist" 
who,  in  his  thinking,  holds  himself  aloof  from  others  can 
pray  in  the  Christian  sense.  The  grim  and  certain  penalty 
of  separating  ourselves  from  our  fellow  men  is  that  we 
separate  ourselves  from  God.  Can  you  imagine  the  Phari- 
see standing  with  the  publican  and  saying,  "Our  Father 
.  .  .  forgive  us  our  trespasses  and  give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread"?  Yet  no  other  kind  of  prayer  is  acceptable. 
Have  you  clearly  realized  that?  Have  you  thought  what 
it  means  that  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  one  is  bound  by  the 
very  words  of  the  prayer  to  join  himself  in  thought  and 
sympathy  with  his  fellow  men  ? 

t"  This  unsocial  quality  of  the  Pharisee's  prayer  appears  in 
its  censoriousness.     When  a  man  truly  prays  he  lias^  no 
,timeJogaze_aTOund  at  his  neighbor's  faults.    The  earnest- 
ness  oihis  own  need  preoccupies  him.     It  is  significant 
that,  even  though  he  was  praying,  the  Pharisee  let  his  eye 
travel  around  the  room  till  it  caught  sight  of  the  publican 
and  promptly  seized  upon  him  as  an  example  of  sin.    "A 
man  never  comes  near  to  God  when  his  mind  is  wandering 
hither  and  thither  in  censorious  criticism  of  his  fellow  men. 
In  prayer  we  look  up  in  aspiration  or  we  look  down  in 
humility;  we  never  look  around  in  criticism  or  curiosity" 
(Hubbard).    This  hard,  censorious  habit  of  the  Pharisee 
fed  his  self-esteem  and  self-satisfaction.    Can  you  tell  from 
,  experience  how   rapidly  a   censorious  and  critical  habit 
!  grows  ?    Note  its  effect  on  the  Pharisee.    Most  other  peo- 
ple are  to  him  "extortioners,  ujijust,  adulterers."     This 
poor  publican,  whoin  he~Tiad  doubtless  never  seen  before, 
'  he  quickly  assumes  to  be  bad.     What  effect  does  a  fault- 
finding disposition  have  on  one's  spiritual  life?     One's 
[own  power  of  enjoyment?    How  may  it  be  overcome? 
,-'    Through  the  clear  window  of  his  prayer  we  discover 
I  a  distortion.    He  has  a  wrong  idea  of  goodness  as  a  thing 
;  of  negative  abstinences  and  outward  acts.    He  has  a  false 
'  idea  of  religion  as  ceremony  and  no  conception  of  it  as 
"the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man."    He  has  no  idea 
of  the  relation  between  the  two,  his  religion  having  no 
result  in  positive  morality,  such  as  love,  service  or  humility. 


THE  PHARISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN       99 

The  Pharisee  We  Know  Best 

The  Pharisee  of  A.  D.  31  is  interesting  and  important 
chiefly  for  the  light  he  throws  on  the  Pharisee  of  A.  D. 
Nineteen  Hundred  and  To-day.  Across  the  centuries  there 
sounds  the  warning  which  Jesus  first  gave  to  his  disciples, 
as,  crowded  together  in  a  little  boat  one  night,  they  sailed 
across  the  Galilaean  lake:  "Beware  of  the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees." 

Back  of  all  the  Pharisee's  blunders  in  religion  and 
character  is  mistaking  the  means  for  the  end.  Prayers, 
ceremonies,  worsliip  are  useful  only  as  a  means  of  bringing 
men  into  communion  with  God,  making  them  like  God  in 
character,  and  developing  a  love  for  God  and  their  fellow 
men.  When  observances  and  worship  have  no  results  m 
character  and  service  they  are  useless.  We  are  guilty  of 
the  sin  of  the  Pharisee  when  our  worship  brings  forth  no 
fruit  in  our  lives  or  when  we  allow  the  outward  observances 
of  religion  to  take  first  place  in  importance  over  the  great 
plain  matters  of  right  conduct,  of  sympathy  and  love,  and 
of  that  humble,  childlike  attitude  of  spirit,  without  which 
no  man  enters  the  Kingdom. 

When  the  question  is  asked  whether  a  person  is  religious 
or  not,  what  kinds  of  facts  are  mentioned  as  evidence, 
facts  of  conduct  and  inner  disposition  or  facts  of  observance 
of  well-established  religious  customs?  The  process  by 
which  a  Pharisee  is  made  is  a  subtle  and  unconscious  one 
beginning  with  false  standards  of  worth.  It  is  ever  so  much 
easier  to  go  to  church  every  Sunday,  or  to  say  our  prayers 
every  day,  than  to  keep  ourselves  from  slandering  or  from 
impure  thought,  from  losing  our  temper,  or  to  refrain  from 
envy,  from  selfishness  and  coldness.  We  substitute  the 
lower  standard  for  the  higher.  We  fulfil  the  outward, 
mechanical  standard  and  thereby  become  self-satisfied.  We 
may  lose  the  hunger  and  thirst  after  real  inner  righteous- 
ness and  another  Pharisee  is  made. 

A  Look  in  the  Mierok 

We  need  a  continual  guard  lest  we  become  intellecttidl 
Pharisees.     Early  opportunities  of  education  and  environ- 


100    STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OE  JESUS 

ment  have  undeniably  set  us  above  many  of  our  fellows. 
What  effect  have  these  advantages  had  on  us  ?  Have  they 
made  us  snobbish,  distant,  superior  ?  If  so,  it  is  a  ques- 
tion whelEer  tHe^-^  ought  to  be  called  advantages,  for  ex- 
pansion of  the  mind  is  a  poor  compensation  for  contrac- 
tion of  the  heart.  Do  we  ever  feel  thankful  that  we  are 
not  like  the  crude,  loud,  ignorant  family  across  the  stregt, 
or  "the  masses"  on  the  other  side  of  town?  There  is  a 
pernicious  habit  of  affecting  to  be  bored  by  the  common 
and  simpler  pleasures  in  which  the  great  majority  find! 
joy.  People  who  have  that  habit,  in  most  cases  educated 
people,  seem  to  feel  that  to  join  in  the  common  emotionsj 
of  the  multitude  is  an  evidence  of  inferiority.  They  only 
prove  that  "a  little  learning  is  a  dangerouF  thing."  Edu- 
cation is  a  responsibility,  a  trust  which  we  are  charged  to 
administer  for  the  benefit  of  others.  It  is  not  an  empty 
decoration  to  be  worn  with  exultation. 

Racial  pharisees  obstruct  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Men  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  with  little  or  no  under- 
standing or  appreciation  of  the  genius  and  virtues  of 
Oriental  races,  frequently  look  upon  them  with  contempt. 
Men  of  every  race  are  too  prone  to  regard  every  difference 
from  themselves  as  a  defect,  when  in  truth  it  may  be  a 

'vast  superiority.  The  only  way  in  which  thousands  of 
Americans  ever  treat  the  immigrants  from  Eussia  and 
sy  [  southeastern  Europe  is  with  a  superior  contempt  or  patron- 
age.  Yet  thousands  of  these  immigrants  have  displayed 
a  heroic  devotion^ to  liberty^  a  capacity  for  unselfish  sacri- 

Jfice,  and  an  endless  industry~far  beyond  anything  to  whicIT 
tlTe  Americans  who  looked  down  upon  them  could  aspire. 
Have  you  "ever  known  any  examples  of  this?  How  may 
this  narrow-minded  provincialism  be  overcome  ? 

Social  Pharisaism  is  quite  as  vicious  in  its  effects.  Dif- 
ferences of  wealth,  of  occupation,  of  position,  too  often 
cause  an  attitude  even  in  Christian  people,  which  cannot 
be  distinguished  from  the  Pharisee's  miserable  boast,  "Grod, 
I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men."  Vast 
numbers  of  people  are  "separatists,"  so  far  as  any  real 
contact  with  people  who  have  to  work  for  a  living  is  con- 
cerned.    Every  city  has  its  social  clique  whose  members 


THE  PHARISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN      101 

regard  tliemselves  as  a_veritable  Braliman  ,caste.  Sometimes 
that  ugly  spirit  of  class  distinction  does  not  even  stop  at 
the  door  of  the  Christian  cliurch,  but  enters  in  to  profane 
the  sanctuary  by  its  crass  denial  of  the  message  of  Jesus. 

The  sectarian  pharisee  effectually  blocks  the  deep  desire 
of  Christ  "'that  they  may  all  be  one."  Happily,  his  tribe 
is  decreasing.  The  church  in  all  sections  has  had  marvelous 
growth  in  recent  years  in  the  capacity  for  generous  en- 
thusiasm and  appreciation  for  the  excellences  of  other 
denominations.  But  the  pharisaic  spirit  of  "holier  than 
thou"  has  kept  different  bodies  far  apart.  Alexanderl  y^ 
Whyte  says  truly,  "It  is  not  so  much  our  love  of  truth/  /^ 
which  has  kept  us  apart  as  our  love  of  ourselves."  -  -I 

Have  you  ever  thought  of  the  serious  implications  in 
the  fact  that  Jesus  said  of  the  Pharisees,  "Let  them  alone"  ? 
He  was  the  most  undiscourageable  optimist  who  ever  walked 
the  earth.  He  saw  the  good  possibilities  in  the  greatest 
sinners.  Yet  he  regarded  this  self-satisfied,  hard  formal- 
ism of  the  Pharisees  as  the  most  hopeless  thing  in  the 
world. 

The  Peayer  That  God  Heaed 

The  sincerity  of  the  publican's  prayer  shines  out  in  the 
directness  and  intensity  of  his  plea.  "When  the  heart  is  I 
.stirred  it  speaks  in  telegrams/'  As  we  hear  him  pray,  tlie 
Beatitudes  come  to  mind.  He  embodies  perfectly  the  basic 
qualities  which  Jesus  calls  blessed,  and  so  is  a  perfect  model 
on  which  to  form  our  prayers.  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit."  "Blessed  are  they  that  mourn.  Blessed  are  the 
meek."  "Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness."  These  qualities  in  one's  life  are  open  doors 
through  which  God  enters,  bearing  the  gifts  of  pardon  and 
power.  A  hard,  erect  impenitence  is  like  a  stone  wall 
around  one's  life  effectually  shutting  out  all  possibility  of 
forgiveness.  The  priceless  worth  of  a  penitent  spirit  is 
beautifully  expressed  in  Moore's  "Paradise  and  the  Peri," 
in  Lalla  Rookh,  in  which  a  Peri  was  refused  admission  to 
paradise  until  she  brought  the  most  precious  thing  on 
earth.  She  tried  in  vain  with  the  last  drop  of  a  patriot's 
life  blood  and  the  last  sigh  of  a  lover's  self-sacrifice,  but 


102  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

filially  was  admitted  when  she  bore  up  to  the  gate  a  tear 
of  penitence  of  an  old  maru  There  is  a  sure  spiritual  in- 
V  sight  m  the^  story,  for,  according  toJesus,  penitence  is  the 
, ^)  most  precious  thing  on'earth^     """^  ^--^ 

'•  Consider  how  humility  of  spirit  and  a  sense  of  sinful- 
ness have  been  a  mark  of  the  greatest  characters  in  Chris- 
tian history.  Eemember  Paul's  "Christ  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners ;  of  whom  I  am  chief,"  and  Luther's 
last  words,  written  on  a  piece  of  paper,  "We  are  all  beggars, 
that  is  true."  The  more  one  knows  of  God,  the  keener 
sensitiveness  he  has  for  his  own  sin.    True  spiritual  prog- 

\  ress  will  always  be  marked  by  the  spirit  of  penitence  shown 

jin  the  publican's  prayer. 

"What  Shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved  ?" 

How  shall  we  be  saved  from  the  infection  of  formalism, 
of  pride,  of  hardness?  How  shall  we  keep  alive  the  spirit 
of  humility  and  sympathy?  It  is  every  man's  own  battle 
and  he  must  win  it  by  his  own  strategy.  But  there  are 
certain  great  aids  which  are  available  for  all.  First,  much 
is  gained  when  we  recognize  that  it  is  a  battle  an^Tour 
mo^liinpQTtEffrone:  The~weakening"'or~Bie~mner  life  of 
the  spirit  comes  tlirough  carelessness  and  neglect.  Second, 
we  preserve  a  true  estimate  of  ourselves  Jjy  constantly  tak- 
ing Christ  as  a  model  and  aspiring  to  be  like  him.~~  There 
is  no  room  for  petty-  self -satisfactron~  or  congratulatory 
comparison  with  others,  when  beside  the  strength  and  good- 
ness of  Jesus   our  best  achievement   seems   but  a   poor 

I  blunder.  The  little  hills  around  our  homes  seem  high  until 
we  see  the  Eockies  or  the  Alps;  so  our  petty  superiorities 

[  melt  away  as  we  come  to  know  Jesus.  When  that  knowl- 
edge is  burned  into  our  hearts  there  is  only  one  prayer 
that  rises  to  our  lips — "God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !" 
Third,  constant  sy nipathetic_£mitact_mthL..others_aiLdj>erv- 
ice  with  and  for  theih  saves,  us  from  selfishness.  It  lifts 
us  out  of  the  narrow  provinciality  that  so  easily  besets  us. 
t  delivers  us  from  getting  into  the  condition  of  those  for 
whose  express  benefit  Jesus  told  this  story — "who  trusted 
in  themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  and  set  all  others 
at  nought.'^    When  we  work  with  people  and  really  know 


n^^ 


THE  PHAEISEE  AND  THE  PUBLICAN      103 

them,  we  learn  to  appreciate  them.  It  is  contact  with  the 
native  water  carrier  of  India  on  the  firing  line  which 
wrings  from  Tommy  Atkins  the  admission  that  Gunga 
Din  is  a  better  man  than  liimself. 

For  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

What  light  do  the  Beatitudes  throw  on  prayer  ?  How  far 
can  a  man's  character  be  measured  by  prayer  ? 

Read  the  descriptions  of  Pharisees  in  the  following  refer- 
ences: Matthew  5.  20;  6.  1-8;  23.  1-35;  Mark  7.  1-13; 
John  7.  45-49.  What  characteristics  are  shown?  Did 
the  Pharisees  have  any  good  qualities  ?    What  were  they  ? 

Compare  the  publican's  prayer  with  some  of  the  "model" 
prayers  of  Paul:  Philippians  3.  7-14  and  1  Corinthians 
2.  9.  What  have  they  in  common?  How  much  social 
feeling  do  you  have  in  prayer  ? 

What  place  had  prayer  in  Jesus'  own  life?  When  did  he 
pray  ?    What  were  the  results  ? 

Is  there  a  pharisaism  of  education  ?    Of  class  ?    Of  nation  ? 

What  means  of  religious  education  may  be  used  to  develop 
the  sense  of  brotherhood  and  humility  ? 

Is  a  sense  of  unworthiness  an  indication  of  strength  or 
weakness  of  character?  What  is  the  ditference  between 
the  spirit  of  Pharisees  and  self-reliance  ? 

What  are  class  lines  drawn  in  your  town  ?  What  are  their 
effects  ? 

What  experience  have  we  had  of  refusal  to  associate  with 
others?  For  what  reason  did  we  refuse,  on  account  of 
wealth,  education,  race,  or  religion? 


CHAPTER   XI 
THE  RICH  FOOL 

Luke  12.  13-21 

A  man  out  of  the  crowd  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  tell  my 
brother  to  give  me  my  share  of  our  inheritance";  but  he  said 
to  him,  "Man,  who  made  me  a  judge  or  arbitrator  over  your 
affairs?"  Then  he  said  to  them,  "See  and  keep  clear  of  covet- 
ousness  in  every  shape  and  form,  for  a  man's  life  is  not  part 
of  his  possessions  because  he  has  ample  wealth."  And  he 
told  them  a  parable.  "A  rich  man's  estate  bore  heavy  crops. 
So  he  debated,  'What  am  I  to  do?  I  have  no  room  to  store 
my  crops.'  And  he  said,  'This  is  what  I  will  do.  I  will  pull 
down  my  granaries  and  build  larger  ones,  where  I  can  store 
all  my  produce  and  my  goods.  And  I  will  say  to  my  soul, 
"Soul,  you  have  ample  stores  laid  up  for  many  a  year;  take 
your  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry." '  But  God  said  to  him, 
'Foolish  man,  this  very  night  your  soul  is  wanted;  and  who 
will  get  all  you  have  prepared?'  So  fares  the  man  who  lays 
up  treasure  for  himself  instead  of  gaining  the  riches  of  God." 


A  Life  oe  a  Living? 

It  was  Governor  William  E.  Russell,  of  Massachusetts, 
who,  about  a  generation  ago,  set  afloat  on  the  stream  of 
American  thought  and  speech  the  striking  and  fruitful 
sentence,  "It  is  better  to  make  a  life  than  a  living.'^  That 
clear  and  fine  distinction  expresses  much  of  Jesus'  teach- 
ing about  wealth,  its  use  and  its  perils.  In  particular  it 
emphasizes  the  meaning  of  the  Parable  of  the  Rich  Fool, 
for  the  bitter  and  stupid  tragedy  of  that  prosperous  farmer 
lay  in  allowing  the  secondary  and  minor  business  of  mak- 
ing and  spending  a  living  to  crowd  out  the  sublime  business 
of  making  a  life  and  growing  a  soul. 

It  is  a  parable  for  busy,  active,  and  successful  people. 
In  many  ways  it  seems  peculiarly  an  American  parable. 
There  is  in   America  an   abundant   production   of   raw 

104 


THE  KICH  FOOL  105 

material,  an  unparalleled  agricultural  and  industrial  de- 
velopment, coupled  with  an  amazing  genius  for  invention 
and  manipulation  which  is  at  once  a  glory  and  a  peril. 
The  man  had  many  qualities  which  we  are  accustomed  to 
think  of  and  applaud  as  typically  American.  He  was 
energetic  and  efficient.  His  fields  bore  "bumper"  crops. 
He  was  a  man  of  foresight,  and  of  decision,  "This  will  I 
do."  He  would  have  made  an  excellent  manager  of  a  grow- 
ing department  store  or  a  manufacturing  plant.  Yet  in 
spite  of  these  interesting  qualities  Jesus  called  him  a  fool. 
Surely,  here  is  something  which  demands  of  us  in  the 
midst  of  our  busy,  pushing  American  life  of  growing  pros- 
perity, that  we  "Stop,  Look,  and  Listen." 

An  Inteerupted  Address 

Suppose  that  as  Abraham  Lincoln  was  finishing  his 
Second  Inaugural  Address  and  had  just  reached  the  lofty 
paragraph  beginning  "With  malice  toward  none,"  some  per- 
sistent office-seeker  had  interrupted  him  loudly  demanding 
to  be  appointed  to  a  position.  Or  suppose  that  some  one 
should  interrupt  an  impressive  sermon  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion by  clamoring  for  the  ushers  to  show  him  to  a  better 
seat.  With  such  situations  in  mind  we  realize  the  untime- 
liness  of  the  man  who  interrupted  Jesus  to  demand  his 
brother  be  made  to  share  the  inheritance  with  him.  It  was 
a  discourse  of  rare  beauty  on  trust,  and  Jesus  had  just 
assured  his  disciples  of  the  sure  presence  of  God's  spirit 
with  them.  But  it  did  not  take  this  man's  mind  from  his 
own  grievance.  He  felt  himself  defrauded  and  disinherited. 
Perhaps  he  was  a  younger  brother  who  was  disgruntled 
because  the  elder  brother  had  the  double  portion  allotted 
to  him  by  law  (Deut.  21.  17).  At  all  events,  he  has  so 
far  lost  his  sense  of  the  relative  values  and  importance  of 
things,  his  own  affairs  are  so  all  important,  that,  as  he 
listens  to  the  matchless  speaker,  all  he  can  think  of  is  how 
he  can  use  him  for  his  own  financial  gain. 

While  it  was  easy  to  interrupt  Jesus,  it  was  impossible 
for  anyone  to  throw  him  oif  the  track  or  entangle  him. 
Refusing  to  pronounce  on  the  justice  of  the  claim,  or  even 
to  listen  to  it,  he  passes  swiftly  to  point  out  the  deeper  evil 


106  STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OP  JESUS 

from  which  the  man  is  suffering,  covetousness.  "Keep 
yourselves  from  all  covetousness/'  he  pleads,  "for  a  man's 
life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  things  which  he 
possesseth."  He  enforces  the  plea  with  a  story  which  con- 
vincingly portrays  the  supreme  folly  into  which  covetous- 
ness brings  men,  the  Parable  of  the  Rich  Fool. 

Jesus  and  the  State 

The  incident  which  gave  rise  to  this  parable  is  more  than 
ordinarily  instructive  and  valuable.  It  shows  Jesus  defi- 
nitely and  positively  refusing  to  pronounce  on  a  matter 
which  belonged  to  the  courts  and  the  law  of  the  land.  He 
will  not  enter  into  the  realm  of  making  legal  and  economic 
and  political  regulations,  though  men  try  desperately  to 
get  him  to  do  so.  At  the  same  time  he  does  pronounce 
unsparingly  and  unmistakably  on  the  spiritual  issues  un- 
derlying the  question.  He  does  not  come  among  men  as 
a  new  judge  and  divider  or  as  the  maker  of  a  new  code  of 
criminal  law.  But  he  does  come  to  seek  and  to  save  those 
who  are  lost  in  the  clutches  of  covetousness  and  greed. 
It  is  just  because  he  brought  spiritual  truth  to  men  and 
refused  to  let  that  spiritual  truth  be  abandoned  in  favor 
of  some  local  and  ephemeral  economic  and  political  scheme, 
that  his  words  do  not  pass  away.  Had  Jesus  made  a  collec- 
tion of  laws  which  fitted  the  commercial  and  industrial 
life  of  Palestine  in  A.  D.  30,  they  would  have  been  un- 
suited  to  other  countries  and  other  centuries  with  far  dif- 
ferent conditions,  and  Christianity  would  have  died  with 
the  kind  of  life  to  which  it  was  adapted.  But  Jesus'  words 
are  "spirit  and  life."  They  give  the  principles,  values  and 
motives  by  which  men  can  construct  right  government, 
laws,  and  social  conditions.  From  the  study  of  this  action 
of  Jesus  it  would  seem  that  the  church  follows  his  example 
most  closely  when  it  proclaims  the  Christian  principles 
which  must  control  actions  and  the  human  and  spiritual 
values  which  must  be  conserved  in  the  state  and  in  in- 
dustry, rather  than  by  identifying  Christianity  with  any 
particular  political  or  economic  regime.  We  are  often  as- 
sured by  socialists  that  "Christianity  means  socialism." 
The  effort  to  identify  Christianity  with  any  particular 


THE  RICH  FOOL  107 

form  of  social  order  is  a  modem  form  of  the  demand, 
"Speak  to  my  brother  that  he  divide  the  inheritance  with 
me."  Can  Christianity  be  identified  with  any  scheme  of 
social  reorganization  ?  What  is  the  relation  between  Chris- 
tianity and  various  measures  of  social  betterment  ? 

The  Teagedy  of  Success 

A  not  uncommon  form  of  fatal  accident  which  happens 
in  the  great  grain  elevators  is  that  of  a  man  being  buried 
under  a  mountain  of  wheat.  It  is  a  particularly  striking 
form  of  tragedy.  The  wheat,  a  means  of  supporting  life, 
becomes  the  instrument  of  destroying  it.  It  was  a  similar 
tragedy  which  overtook  this  prosperous  farmer,  that  of  hav- 
ing his  real  life,  the  life  of  the  spirit,  buried  and  crushed 
out  under  an  avalanche  of  produce.  It  was  a  tragedy  of  suc- 
cess, the  blinding  of  the  man  to  the  real  purpose  and  use  of 
life  by  the  mere  accumulation  of  things.  Its  cause  is  the 
I'ailure  to  recognize  a  higher  life  which  does  not  depend  on 
wealth.  As  Jesus  used  the  word  "life"  it  has  two  mean- 
ings, one  the  physical  existence,  depending  on  the  acquisi- 
tion of  food,  drink,  clothing,  and  shelter.  The  other  is 
a  life  of  the  spirit  which  depends  on  the  acquisition  of 
relationships,  of  ideals,  of  memories  and  emotions.  This 
man  says  to  his  soul,  "Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid 
up  for  many  years,"  but  there  is  irony  in  the  language. 
What  had  he  that  a  soul  could  live  on?  Can  a  man's 
soul,  that  spiritual  self  capable  of  an  eternal  fellowship 
with  God,  brotherhood  with  man,  and  aspiration  to  an  ideal, 
live  on  vegetables  ?  Can  it  thrive  on  wheat  ?  Or  on  houses 
and  lands  ?  Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  Jesus  called  this 
man  by  that  solemn  name  "fool"  ? 

Instead  of  nourishing  a  life  of  the  spirit  this  man's  heart 
and  mind  had  become  a  mere  clutter  of  merchandise.  That 
his  soul  had  been  flattened  out  by  accunmlated  goods  is 
clearly  shown  by  two  things.  He  did  not  recognize  the 
source  of  his  prosperity  in  God,  from  whom  the  increase 
(!ame.  Nor  did  he  recognize  the  true  purpose  of  his  pros- 
perity, ministry  to  others  to  whom  the  surplus  should  have 
gone.  Blindness  in  these  two  directions  shows  that  he  has 
richly  earned  his  title  "fool."     What  littleness  of  soul  a 


108  STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

man  has  who  takes  the  bounty  of  nature  with  never  a  pause 
to  acknowledge  the  source,  never  a  feeling  of  gratitude! 
What  a  bankrupt  heart  he  has  when  he  can  look  at  his 
bursting  barns  and  have  no  idea  of  sharing  his  abundance 
with  anyone !  Says  Rauschenbusch :  ''The  man  was  a  sub- 
limated chipmunk,  gloating  over  bushels  of  pignuts." 
Whatever  a  man  recognizes  as  the  source  of  his  wealth, 
largely  determines  the  use  to  which  he  puts  it. 

"Back  of  the  loaf  is  the  snowy  flour. 
And  back  of  the  flour,  the  mill; 
And  back  of  the  mill  is  the  wheat  and  the  shower, 
The  sun  and  the  Father's  will." 


"No  Pockets  in  a  Shroud" 

The  grim  Spanish  proverb  "There  are  no  pockets  in  a 
shroud"  points  out  the  other  blunder  made  by  this  rich 
fool  and  all  the  multitude  of  his  imitators.  He  confused 
himself  with  his  possessions.  His  possessions  seemed  so 
solid  and  real  that  he  was  blinded  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  not  a  part  of  himself.  There  is  no  suggestion  that  he 
was  bad.  He  did  not  make  his  wealth  dishonestly.  Nor 
is  it  implied  that  he  spent  it  viciously.  His  invitation  to 
his  soul,  "Eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,"  does  not  contemplate 
an  immoral  riot  of  sensuality  so  much  as  well  fed  comfort 
and  luxury.  Jesus'  warning  is  clear  and  simple.  It  is 
against  covetousness,  the  love  of  accumulation,  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  good  it  will  do,  but  for  its  own  sake,  a  love  of 
accumulation  so  blind  and  strong  that  it  crowds  both  God 
and  his  fellow  men  out  of  a  man's  life. 

Have  you  ever  thought  of  how  large  a  proportion  of 
Jesus'  sayings  have  to  do  with  the  getting  and  spending  of 
wealth  ?  Some  one  has  estimated  that  it  is  nearly  one  half. 
Did  Jesus  pay  too  much  attention  to  it?  Surely,  if  we 
have  observed  how  great  a  force  in  making  character  and 
how  severe  a  test  of  it  the  getting  and  spending  of  money 
is,  we  speedily  recognize  that  Jesus  was  right.  If  his 
Kingdom  is  to  survive  and  grow  in  the  world,  avarice  and 
covetousness  must  be  conquered.  Covetousness  and  Chris- 
tian love  can  no  more  exist  together  than  fire  and  water. 


THE  RICH  FOOL  109 

If  a  man  is  to  become  godlike  in  character,  he  must  strangle 
covetousness  in  himself.  Jesus'  intense  warning  against 
covetousness  is  justified  for  two  reasons.  First,  covetous- 
ness extends  its  blight  over  the  whole  of  life.  A  great  artist 
has  given  on  canvas  his  conception  of  covetousness  as  hav- 
ing the  forepart  of  the  body  like  a  dragon  and  the  rear 
part  like  a  shapeless  iceberg.  It  is  his  portrayal  of  the 
truth  that  the  approach  of  avarice  freezes  every  fine  en- 
thusiasm and  generous  movement  of  the  heart.  Other 
vices  spoil  different  aspects  of  life;  this  one  chills  it  at 
the  center.  The  other  reason  is  that  no  vice  is  so  hard  to 
detect.  There  is  a  sharp  warning  in  the  statement  of  a 
priest  that  he  had  every  conceivable  sin  on  earth  confessed 
to  him  except  that  of  covetousness.  It  usually  appears 
first  under  the  guise  of  "thrift,"  "diligence  "  or  "prudence," 
and  is  warmly  welcomed.  Then  its  coils  tighten  about 
the  heart  without  our  recognition  and  early  ideals  of  un- 
selfish service  and  sacrifice,  our  habits  of  generosity  and 
capacity  for  enthusiasm  are  quietly  strangled.  It  is  hard 
to  recognize  the  process.  Anyone  knows  when  he  has  been 
drunk,  but  who  can  tell  when  he  is  growing  covetous  ? 

Are  Our  Standards  of  Life  Christian  ? 

Consider  the  standards  of  society  to-day  in  the  light  of 
the  place  this  man  would  occupy  in  your  community.  Re- 
member that  he  is  prosperous,  diligent,  and  nowhere  indi- 
cated as  immoral.  His  chief  purpose  in  life  is  accumulation 
of  money,  and  he  is  selfish  in  the  use  of  it.  Would  society 
strongly  disapprove  of  him?  It  is  useless  to  ask  the 
question.  He  would  be  proudly  referred  to  as  "one  of  our 
substantial  citizens."  His  erection  of  new  additions  to  his 
buildings  would  be  pointed  to  with  pride.  He  would  be 
made  a  director  of  half  a  dozen  enterprises  and  his  com- 
monplace remarks  gravely  recorded  in  the  newspaper. 
There  is  a  strong  possibility  that  he  would  even  be  elected 
a  trustee  of  the  church.  Think  of  the  meaning  of  these 
two  facts:  society  honors  a  prosperous,  progressive,  and 
efficient  man  of  this  type;  Jesus  called  him  a  fool.  How 
far  are  our  standards  of  judgment  Christian?  Are  they 
becoming  more  Christian  ? 


110  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

OWNEESHIP  VeESUS  StEWAEDSHIP 

The  rich  fool  had  a  selfish  theory  of  absolute  ownership 
of  the  lands  and  produce  which  came  into  his  possession, 
which  always  has  selfish  and  sordid  results  in  life.  His 
life  had  none  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  which  the 
recognition  of  God  and  his  providence  can  bring  to  any 
man.  He  had  none  of  the  joyous  sense  of  partnership 
which  a  true  conception  of  God  gives.  The  Christian 
conception  of  life  is  based  on  the  idea  of  stewardship.  The 
true  Christian  does  not  think  of  holding  property  with  a 
sense  of  absolute  and  irresponsible  proprietorship,  but  with 
each  privilege  granted  it  hears  the  whisper  of  God — 
"Occupy  till  I  come.''  He  knows  God  as  the  giver  of  every 
good  and  perfect  gift  and  counts  it  a  high  privilege  to  be 
a  coworker  with  him  in  his  plans  of  love.  The  steward- 
ship ideal  of  life  is  beautifully  expressed  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, "All  things  come  of  thee,  and  of  thine  own  have 
we  given  thee.  For  we  are  strangers  before  thee,  and 
sojourners,  as  all  our  fathers  were:  our  days  on  earth  are 
as  a  shadow."  Such  a  feeling  saves  life  from  the  curse  of 
spending  downward  to  the  ruin  of  character  and  will  lead 
it  out  into  the  grace  and  blessing  of  spending  upward  and 
making  one's  money  serve  the  highest  purposes. 

The  Nation  as  a  Fool 

This  story  of  the  man  who  forgot  the  true  end  and 
purpose  of  life  in  the  secondary  business  of  providing  the 
means  has  a  direct  application  to  social  conditions.  What 
shall  it  profit  a  nation,  any  more  than  a  man,  to  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  its  own  life?  What  shall  it  profit  a 
nation  if  its  vast  wealth  is  piled  up  at  the  expense  of  the 
well-being  of  its  workers?  What  benefit,  after  all,  is  the 
production  of  the  finest  steel  on  earth,  if  men  are  worn 
out,  crippled,  or  degraded  in  the  process?  What  is  the 
value  of  all  the  cotton  goods  the  country  produces  if  the 
cost  of  its  production  is  a  stunted  and  weakened  and  de- 
frauded childhood  ?  Grim  old  Thomas  Carlyle  cried,  many 
years  ago,  when  England  was  making  this  stupendous 
blunder  of  child  labor,  "If  you  have  to  take  the  devil  into 


THE  RICH  FOOL  111 

partnership  in  the  cotton  business,  give  up  the  cotton  busi- 
ness !"  Is  a  state  or  town  wise  in  thinking  that  it  profits 
by  the  money  returns  of  its  saloon  licenses,  when  the  real 
cost  in  degraded  manhood  is  forgotten?  States  and  com- 
munities which  do  any  of  these  things  are  rich  fools.  2'he 
true  test  of  any  system  of  industry  is  not  the  amount  of 
goods  it  produces,  hut  its  effect  upon  men.  When  the 
social  order  becomes  Christianized  that  truth  will  be  exalted 
to  a  ruling  position. 

"Fight  the  Good  Fight  With  All  Thy  Might!" 

And  surely  it  is  a  fight  to  which  we  are  called.  We 
must  win  our  fight  against  covetousness  in  its  very  citadel, 
the  market  place.  The  very  circumstances  of  our  lives  and 
occupations  decree  us  to  traffic  in  things,  continually  to 
gather  produce,  build  barns,  and  sell  in  exchanges.  How 
can  we  so  do  it  that  our  barns  and  produce  do  not  fall 
upon  us  and  crush  out  the  highest  possibilities  and  powers 
of  our  lives? 

It  was  to  that  very  problem  that  Jesus  addressed  liim- 
self  when  he  finished  speaking  this  parable.  Eead  Luke 
12.  22-34  carefully  for  Jesus'  practical  directions  for  its 
solution.  Notice  the  forces  which  he  offers  us,  gratitude, 
trust,  and  prayer.  Eemember  what  a  part  these  forces 
played  in  his  own  life.  The  surest  way  of  overcoming  the 
pressure  from  the  material  world  on  our  spiritual  life  is 
by  the  stronger  counter  pressure  of  an  inward  spiritual 
life  maintained  at  full  strength. 

Foe  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

What  were  the  aids  which  Jesus  used  in  overcoming  the 
temptation  to  found  a  materialistic  kingdom.  Matthew 
4.  1-11;  16.  23. 

How  does  the  teaching  of  this  parable  compare  with  Jesus' 
other  teaching  about  wealth  ?  Compare  Matthew  6.  24- 
34;  Luke  9.  25;  Mark  10.  23-31;  Luke  6.  24.  On  the 
basis  of  these  passages  summarize  Jesus*  teaching  about 
wealth. 


112    STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

Should  the  church  "go  into  politics"  ?  What  should  he  the 
relation  of  the  church  to  movements  for  social  reform? 

Compare  the  way  in  which  a  rich  man  who  spends  every- 
thing on  himself  is  now  regarded  with  the  attitude  of  a 
generation  ago  ?  Has  there  been  any  growth  in  the  feel- 
ing of  the  responsibilities  of  wealth  ?    In  what  respects  ? 

Would  Jesus  condemn  a  man  who,  having  grown  rich  at 
the  expense  of  the  rights  of  others,  gives  his  money 
generously  to  charity  ?  How  does  Jesus'  attitude  toward 
wealth  differ  from  the  ordinary  viewpoint  of  the  modern 
world  ? 

How  would  you  spend  a  million  dollars  ? 

Do  you  know  exactly  how  your  income  is  spent?  What 
proportion  of  it  is  spent  for  religious  or  charitable  pur- 
poses ?  What  would  be  a  right  proportion  ?  Do  God  and 
money  ever  come  into  collision  in  your  life  ? 

What  are  the  chief  dangers  of  money -making  ?  Why  did 
Jesus  talk  so  much  about  it?  At  what  point  does  the 
amount  of  private  wealth  a  man  has  become  contrary  to 
the  principles  of  Jesus? 

Is  it  in  accordance  with  Christian  principles  to  live  without 
productive  labor?  Or  to  enjoy  excessive  leisure  pur- 
chased by  the  excessive  toil  of  others  ? 


CHAPTEE   XII 
THE  MUSTARD  SEED.  THE  LEAVEN 

Matthew  13.  31-33 

He  put  another  parable  before  them.  "The  Realm  of  heaven," 
he  said,  "is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  which  a  man  takes 
and  sows  in  his  field.  It  is  less  than  any  seed  on  earth,  but 
when  it  grows  up  it  is  larger  than  any  plant,  it  becomes  a 
tree,  so  large  that  the  wild  birds  come  and  roost  in  its 
branches." 

He  told  them  another  parable.  "The  Realm  of  heaven," 
he  said,  "is  like  dough  which  a  woman  took  and  buried  in 
three  pecks  of  flour,  till  all  of  it  v/as  leavened." 


Two  Paeables  of  Cheer 

The  effect  of  the  Parables  of  the  Sower  and  the  Tares 
must  have  been  somewhat  discouraging  to  the  disciples. 
Both  parables  show  with  great  and  ahnost  painful  plain- 
ness the  hindrances  and  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  growth 
of  the  Kingdom.  To  realize  that  much  of  the  seed  will 
bring  forth  absolutely  nothing  and  that  much  of  evil  must 
be  allowed  to  remain  alongside  of  the  good,  is  certainly 
not  enheartening.  Thus  it  is  no  doubt  part  of  the  wise 
strategy  of  Jesus,  that  after  two  parables  showing  the 
obstacles  and  difficulties,  he  should  give  two  parables 
which  are  magnificent  stimulants  to  faith  and  energy.  For 
they  both  declare  that  in  spite  of  every  barrier  of  opposi- 
tion the  kingdom  of  God  is  sure  to  extend  on  earth  until 
it  holds  dominion  everywhere  and  until  it  has  infused  its 
spirit  into  all  society  and  transformed  it  with  its  leaven. 
Such  a  mighty  and  dominating  faith  as  Jesus  shows  in 
these  parables  is  surely  the  elixir  of  life  to  the  church  and 
to  the  individual  disciple.  Whenever  men  have  shared  in 
this  calm,  profound  faith  that  God  is  to  be  victorious  in 

113 


114  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

his  world,  it  is  to  them  a  veritable  draught  from  the  foun- 
tain of  youth.  Under  its  influence  they  have  mounted  up 
with  wings  as  eagles;  they  have  run  and  not  been  weary; 
they  have  walked  and  not  fainted. 

The  Need  of  Faith  To-day 

Would  anyone  say  that  a  message  of  cheer  and  faith  on 
the  sure  growth  and  world-wide  dominion  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  uncalled  for  and  unnecessary  to-day  ?  Is  it  not 
far  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that  the  need  of  a  reasoned 
faith  in  the  victory  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  world  is  one 
of  our  deepest  and  most  urgent  needs?  Was  there  ever 
a  time  when  the  need  for  such  faith  was  greater?  Cer- 
tainly, there  was  need  that  Jesus  should  speak  these  para- 
bles of  reassurance  to  the  disciples,  as  the  beginning  of 
what  was  designed  to  be  a  conquest  of  the  world  seemed 
so  pitiably  small  and  insignificant.  They  needed  hearten- 
ing and  encouragement,  and  Jesus  gave  it  to  them.  We  do 
not  face  the  same  strange,  hostile  Eoman  world  that  they 
did.  But  we  do  look  out  on  a  world  that  is  teeming  with 
depressing  facts  and  alive  with  hostile  forces.  Only  when 
we  shut  our  eyes  can  we  deny  them.  The  appalling  losses 
from  war,  losses  physical,  moral,  and  spiritual;  the  persis- 
tence of  ancient  iniquities  that  debase  and  destroy;  the  in- 
justices and  wastes  of  industry;  the  inertia  of  ignorance 
and  indifference;  the  vast  numbers  and  extent  of  the  non- 
Christian  world — these  are  a  few  of  the  reasons  Avhy  we 
need  supremely  to  catch  the  contagion  of  faith  from  Christ 
and  hear  his  voice  repeating  to  our  hearts,  "The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  grain  of  mustard  seed." 

The  Certainty  of  the  Kingdom 

The  Parables  of  the  Mustard  Seed  and  of  the  Leaven 
present  differences  of  meaning  which  must  be  noted,  but 
their  essential  teaching  is  one.  The  comparison  of  the 
Kingdom  both  to  the  mustard  seed  and  to  the  leaven  por- 
trays the  gradual  but  sure  and  increasing  growth  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  until  its  dominion  extends  throughout  the 
world.  This  central  truth  is  expressed  in  each  parable 
with  a  different  emphasis.    The  tiny  mustard  seed  growing 


THE  MUSTAKD  SEED.    THE  LEAVEN      115 

into  a  sizable  tree  represents  the  growth  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  as  a  visible  society  which  can  be  seen  or  numbered  and 
its  strength  estimated.  The  leaven  hid  in  three  measures 
of  meal,  however,  working  in  a  hidden  way,  alt'ecting  the 
very  nature  of  all  that  it  touches,  represents  the  Kingdom 
as  a  moral  and  spiritual  power,  spreading  its  silent  and  un- 
noticed influence  throughout  human  society.  It  depicts 
perfectly  the  effect  of  Christianity  in  a  mission  field  such 
as  China.  It  has  a  vast,  pervasive  influence  on  the  ways 
of  thinking,  the  standards  of  life  of  great  numbers,  an 
influence  which  cannot  be  expressed  in  statistics  at  all. 

In  both  the  parables  it  is  the  Kingdom  as  a  social  force 
which  is  uppermost  in  mind,  though  the  comparisons  are 
profoundly  true  of  the  Kingdom  when  considered  as  the 
rule  of  God  in  an  individual  life.  Like  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,  God's  rule  in  one's  heart  may  spring  from  small  be- 
ginnings ;  like  the  leaven,  it  will  work  pervasively  through- 
out his  whole  nature  until  every  aspect  of  life  has  been 
transformed  by  the  truth,  "every  thought,"  in  the  words 
of  Paul,  having  been  brought  "into  captivity  to  the  obedi- 
ence of  Christ."  It  is  the  kingdom  of  God  in  society, 
however,  his  reign  in  the  world,  which  is  principally  in 
view  in  these  two  parables.  We  have  already  seen  that 
in  the  two  parables  which  follow  these  in  the  discourse  of 
Jesus  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  and 
the  Hidden  Treasure,  it  is  the  rule  of  God  as  the  supreme 
good  in  personal  life  which  is  emphasized.  It  is  one  King- 
dom, in  individual  and  social  life.  It  is  the  rule  of  God, 
the  enthronement  of  Jesus'  ideal  of  character  and  life,  in 
individuals  and  in  society,  in  individuals  first  and  then, 
through  their  influence  and  contacts,  in  society. 

"The  World  the  Subject  of  Eedemptio]^?" 

The  best  description  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  also  the 
shortest.  It  occurs  in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  "Thy  kingdom 
come.  Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven  so  on  earth."  The 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  for  which  we  pray,  hope,  and 
labor,  is  the  condition  which  prevails  when  God's  will  is 
done.  A  better  translation  of  the  phrase  is  "the  reign  of 
God."    It  is  the  pivotal  idea  of  Jesus'  teaching,  so  broad 


116    STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

that  he  never  gave  a  definition  of  it,  and  so  all-inclusive 
that  it  is  hard  for  us,  who  have  been  trained  to  think  in 
terms  of  the  individual,  the  family  and  the  state,  to  grasp 
vividly  so  comprehensive  an  ideal.  The  reign  of  God  is 
realized  in  a  character  which  is  dominated  by  a  love  like 
that  of  God.  It  is  realized  in  society  when  the  relations 
of  men  to  men,  of  class  to  class,  of  nation  to  nation  are 
controlled  by  that  same  love.  Shailer  Mathews  expands 
this  in  his  definition  of  it  as  "the  joyous  and  righteous 
union  of  those  who  live  as  brothers  with  one  another,  be- 
cause of  their  conunon  faith  in  God  as  their  Father,  and 
their  subjection  to  his  rule  of  love."  For  us  to  believe  in 
the  Kingdom  to-day  means  that  we  have  faith  that  the 
rule  of  God  and  of  love,  which  we  see  now  only  in  its  be- 
ginnings, will  grow  and  expand  until  it  embraces  all  peo- 
ples and  all  nations  and  will  penetrate  and  transform  their 
entire  life.  This  is  a  vastly  larger  hope  than  that  of  simply 
saving  a  number  of  people  out  of  the  world  and  getting 
them  into  heaven.  Men  who  have  held  such  an  interpreta- 
tion of  the  plan  of  Christ  regard  the  work  of  transforming 
the  world  as  hopeless  and  not  worth  much  effort.  Those 
who  have  had  such  a  view  have  often  had  a  clear  vision  of 
Jesus'  message  of  individual  salvation  and  of  eternal  life. 
They  have  not  understood  as  clearly  his  message  for  society 
and  his  purpose  for  the  world.  What  is  the  social  effect 
of  a  conception  of  Christianity  which  holds  its  purpose  to 
be  simply  that  of  saving  people  out  of  the  world  into 
heaven?  What  light  do  these  parables  throw  on  such  a 
view? 

The  Divine  Method  of  Gkowth 

These  parables  not  only  affirm  the  certainty  of  the  King- 
dom; they  also  point  out  the  method  of  its  coming.  It  is 
the  method  of  gradual  growth.  As  Jesus  has  expressed  it 
in  another  parable  (Mark  4.  28),  "first  the  blade,  then  the 
ear,  then  the  full  grain  in  the  ear.''  The  development  of 
the  Kingdom  comes  under  the  great  law  of  all  development 
in  nature,  growth.  From  small  and  simple  beginnings  it 
expands  slowly,  steadily,  surely.  And  therein  lies  the  great 
hope.    In  this  respect  also  the  full  force  of  these  parables 


THE  MUSTARD  SEED.    THE  LEAVEN      117 

of  Jesus  has  not  always  been  felt  or  understood.  Some 
have  become  so  absorbed  in  the  end  of  the  world  and  in 
what  is  termed  the  second  coming  of  Christ  that  they  have 
overlooked  this  teaching  of  Jesus  that  the  Kingdom  grows 
as  a  tree  grows  and  expands  in  power  as  leaven  transforms 
dough.  They  have  looked  for  the  Kingdom  to  be  ushered 
in  suddenly  by  some  great  event  from  outside  which  would 
constitute  the  end  of  the  world.  Such  a  view  has  not  in- 
frequently an  unfortunate  tendency  to  decrease  the  willing- 
ness of  its  adherents  to  work  for  such  measures  of  social 
betterment  as  take  a  long  time  to  establish,  as  the  abolition 
of  war,  of  poverty  and  the  liquor  traffic,  of  industrial  in- 
justice. In  its  worst  form  this  conception  of  the  future  of 
Christianity  in  the  world  is  pessimistic  in  its  outlook.  It 
looks  for  the  world  to  become  worse  and  worse  until  it  be- 
comes so  bad  that  God  will  end  it.  Surely,  these  parables 
point  to  a  finer  hope,  a  happier  result. 

The  LeavejSt  and  History 

Almost  two  thousand  years  have  passed  since  Jesus  spoke 
these  parables.  That  is  not  enough  to  enable  us  to  decide 
all  the  questions  they  raise.  But  it  is  enough  for  us  to 
judge  whether  the  actual  facts  of  history  bear  out  the 
faith  of  Jesus  in  the  Kingdom's  growth.  Has  the  truth 
of  Christ  been  like  leaven  in  the  world  for  twenty 
centuries?  To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it.  The 
Christian  religion  has  been  incomparably  the  most  power- 
ful influence  in  all  human  history.  Think  of  the  parable 
of  the  leaven  as  applied  to  the  history  of  Christianity.  It 
is  hard  to  conceive  how  any  movement  could  be  more 
effectually  "hidden"  than  was  the  life  and  work  of  Jesus. 
It  was  a  small  movement  among  the  obscure  section  of  the 
despised  population  of  a  remote  province  of  the  Roman 
empire.  Its  leader  died  the  death  of  a  criminal.  Its  first 
leaders  were  hated  by  their  own  countrymen.  It  was 
limited  almost  entirely  to  the  poor  in  the  slums  of  the 
great  cities  and  to  the  unlearned  in  small  towns.  It 
quickly  drew  upon  itself  ridicule  and  persecution.  It  had 
no  rewards  or  honors  to  confer.  Yet  underneath  the  pomp 
and  power  of  the  Roman  empire  the  ferment  of  Christian 


118  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

truth  was  working  till  Eome  itself  was  gone  and  the 
leaven  of  Christ's  kingdom  had  utterly  transformed  the 
world.  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  has  become 
the  head  of  the  corner.  There  is  not  a  field  of  human 
endeavor  and  thought  which  has  not  been  deeply  affected 
by  Christianity.  Religion,  ethics,  philosophy,  law,  edu- 
cation, politics,  literature,  all  have  felt  the  transforming 
leaven  of  the  influence  of  Christ.  Architecture,  music, 
literature,  art  "bear  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.'*  How 
little  anyone  in  the  first  two  centuries  dreamed  of  the 
mighty  leaven  hidden  from  view !  How  strikingly  it  shows 
that  the  street-corner  test,  the  noise  that  a  thing  makes 
or  the  notice  it  attracts,  is  never  the  true  test  of  the  power 
or  importance  of  a  movement.  The  deeper  we  study  the 
history  of  the  Kingdom  in  the  past  the  stronger  faith  we 
have  in  its  future. 

FoECES  Which  the  Kingdom  Must  Conquek 

The  whole  mass  is  not  yet  leavened.  Vast  tracts  of  life 
seem  scarcely  to  have  felt  the  pervasive  influence  of  Chris- 
tian truth.  As  we  try  to  make  our  faith  in  the  growth 
of  the  Kingdom  vital  and  practical,  we  ask  ourselves, 
"What  must  be  overcome  if  it  is  to  be  victorious?"  In 
general  terms  they  are  just  the  things  which  blocked  the 
Kingdom  in  Jesus'  own  day,  the  things  against  which  he 
had  to  wage  incessant  warfare — selfishness  and  covetous- 
ness,  pride  and  hardness  of  heart,  class  and  race  prejudice, 
the  oppression  of  the  poor,  externalism  and  legalism  in  reli- 
gion. Their  opposition  is  modern  in  form  in  some  cases, 
but  the  root  is  the  same.  War  and  the  selfish  nationalism 
which  lies  behind  it  are  still  obstacles.  The  placing  of 
material  advantages  above  human  and  spiritual  values;  in- 
justice and  the  exploitation  of  the  workers  in  our  system 
of  industry;  the  waste  and  selfish  extravagance  of  wealth; 
race  prejudice,  national  prejudice,  and  class  antipathy; 
divisions  in  the  church;  the  active  strength  of  non-Chris- 
tian religions  and  the  vast  ignorance  and  traditionalism 
of  the  non-Christian  world — these  are  a  few  of  the  enemies 
of  the  Kingdom  which  must  be  conquered.  What  others 
can  you  name?    Which  do  you  consider  the  strongest? 


THE  MUSTARD  SEED.    THE  LEAVEX      119 

FOECES  IX  THE  GROWING  KINGDOM 

To  estimate  the  forces  which  are  evidence  of  the  working 
of  the  leaven  of  Christian  truth  would  mean  a  survey  of 
the  whole  modern  world.  J.  G.  Greenough  rightly  warns 
us  against  the  mistake  of  taking  only  the  parable  of  the 
mustard  seed  and  estimating  the  power  of  Christianity  by 
the  number  in  the  church  and  overlooking  the  mighty  in- 
vincible action  of  Christian  influence  and  truth  which  act 
as  leaven.  It  is  these  forces,  working  frequently  in  an 
invisible  manner,  which  are  the  sure  pledges  of  conquest. 
Against  the  injustices  of  industry  there  must  be  set  the 
increasing  recognition  of  the  rights  of  labor,  greater  safe- 
guards, better  conditions ;  against  the  exploitation  of  women 
and  children  in  industr}^  set  down  the  fact  that  protection 
to  them  is  being  more  rapidly  extended  than  ever,  and 
that  there  was  never  so  much  intelligent  care  given  to 
childhood  or  such  recognition  of  its  value.  Think  of  the 
amazing  restriction  of  the  liquor  traffic  throughout  the 
world;  the  widesjjread  horror  of  war,  stronger  than  ever 
before  in  history;  the  growing  federation  of  the  branches 
of  the  church  and  the  decrease  of  controversy;  the  new 
emphasis  of  the  church  on  social  ministry;  the  wonders 
of  medical  progress,  the  extension  of  education  and  of 
democracy;  the  victory  over  such  age-old  curses  as  foot- 
binding  in  China,  and  the  voluntary  abolition  of  the  opium 
trade;  the  advance  in  ethical  standards  in  our  own  and 
other  nations  in  business  and  government;  the  break  up 
of  many  non-Christian  religions — all  these  and  a  hundred 
other  results  deepen  our  faith  in  the  coming  of  the  King- 
dom. 

The  Challenge 

The  working  of  leaven  implies  contact  with  the  meal 
and  that  implication  brings  a  direct  challenge  to  us.  The 
Kingdom  spreads  from  man  to  man  and  we  must  circulate 
among  our  fellow  men,  bearing  the  leaven  of  a  Christlike 
life  with  us.  We  must  touch  life  at  all  points  so  that  its 
religion,  its  labor,  its  recreation,  its  arts  may  be  penetrated 
with  Christian  ideals  and  standards.  Dr.  Plummer  has 
pointed  out  two  mistakes  which  are  commonly  made  and 


120  STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

which  effectually  hinder  the  spread  of  the  Kingdom.  One 
is  keeping  out  of  social  contacts  for  fear  of  contamination. 
The  other  is  to  leave  our  Christianity  behind  when  we  go 
among  men.  How  easy  the  latter  is  and  how  often  we  are 
tempted  to  do  it !  Think  of  the  seriousness  of  such  action, 
when  the  spread  of  the  Kingdom  depends  on  personal 
Christian  contacts. 

Religious  Education  and  the  Coming  Kingdom 

There  are  many  methods  of  working  to  bring  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  "God  fulfils  himself  in  many  ways.*' 
But  there  is  one  general  field  of  work  which  deserves  our 
particular  thought,  that  of  religious  education.  It  deserves 
a  special  emphasis  for  two  reasons;  one,  the  part  which 
it  has  played  historically  in  the  development  and  extension 
of  the  kingdom  of  God ;  the  other,  the  fact  that  every  one, 
no  matter  what  his  location,  occupation,  or  situation,  may 
fruitfully  engage  in  it. 

When  we  think  of  the  relation  of  religious  education  to 
the  growth  of  the  Kingdom,  our  minds  inevitably  turn  to 
Jesus  and  that  little  company  of  disciples,  to  whose  in- 
tensive training  he  gave  so  lavishly  of  his  time.  While  he 
did  not  neglect  a  public  ministry  to  large  crowds,  he  gave 
the  largest  part  of  his  effort  to  the  conduct  of  a  teacher- 
training  class.  He  indicated  the  supreme  importance  which 
he  gave  to  religious  education  in  the  last  command  to  his 
disciples,  the  command  known  as  "the  great  commission," 
"Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  commanded  you"  (Matt.  28.  19,  20). 

When  the  early  church  confronted  the  Roman  world  with 
its  opposing  philosophies  and  religions,  it  prepared  the 
way  for  its  conquest  of  that  world  by  the  teaching  of 
Christian  doctrine  by  the  church  fathers,  such  as  Origen, 
Tertullian,  and  Augustine.  Again  when,  a  few  centuries 
later,  Rome  had  broken  down  under  the  influx  of  barbarian 
hordes,  the  church  preserved  itself  amid  the  general  dis- 
solution by  the  foundation  of  great  schools,  by  which  Chris- 
tianity was  spread  among  the  conquerors  of  the  Roman 


THE  MU8TAKD  SEED.    THE  LEAVEiN       121 

empire.  When  the  Eeformation  under  Luther  brought  to 
Europe  a  new  and  transforming  knowledge  of  Christian 
truth,  that  knowledge  was  extended  and  made  fruitful  by 
a  new  emphasis  on  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  and  Christian 
doctrine.  One  of  the  most  effective  agencies  in  the  Meth- 
odist revival  under  Wesley  was  the  class  meeting,  which 
had  an  educational  function  in  training  new  converts  in 
Christian  truth*'  and  Christian  living.  It  conserved  and 
made  permanent  the  fruits  of  the  great  evangelistic  move- 
ment. It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  epochs  in 
which  the  Kingdom  has  had  the  greatest  permanent  growth 
have  been  those  in  which  the  church  has  paid  the  most 
attention  to  Paul's  injunction  to  Timothy — "Give  heed 
...  to  teaching." 

The  Oppoktunity  of  Eeligious  Education  To-day 

Never  was  there  a  greater  opportunity  for  the  extension, 
of  the  Kingdom  through  education  in  religion  than  to-day. 
To  a  degree  scarcely  ever  before  realized  the  world  is  mak- 
ing a  fresh  start,  beginning  a  new  epoch.  Abroad,  in  non- 
Christian  lands,  the  breaking  up  of  old  established  ways  of 
thought  and  customs  presents  an  unparalleled  opportunity 
of  teaching  Christianity.  ''One  quarter  of  the  human  race 
is  slipping  from  its  spiritual  moorings.  Surely  never  was 
richer  freight  derelict  on  the  waters  of  time."  The  effect 
of  Christian  education  in  China,  for  instance,  can  readily 
be  seen  in  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  the  leaders  in 
her  progress  in  the  last  ten  years  were  educated  in  Christian 
mission  schools.  At  home  the  opportunity  is  equally 
strategic.  To  give  to  the  next  generation  Christian  ideals 
of  personal  conduct,  of  home  life,  of  business  and  industrial 
relations,  and  of  international  comity,  is  the  largest  task  to 
which  we  can  give  ourselves. 

We  are  often  discouraged  at  the  slow  moral  and  spiritual 
progress  the  world  seems  to  make.  But  hope  for  the  King- 
dom gleams  bright  when  we  remember  that  there  is  a  new 
generation  on  earth  every  thirty  years.  If  we  only  do  our 
part  with  fidelity  and  thoroughness,  some  time  there  will 
be  a  generation  on  earth  which  has  been  trained  rightly, 
and  then  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  will  literally  go 


122  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

forward  by  a  leap  of  centuries.  Is  your  church  meeting 
this  challenge  and  opportunity  of  religious  education  in  the 
community  to  which  it  ministers? 

For  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

What  is  the  place  of  religious  education  in  the  growth  of 
the  Kingdom? 

In  what  respects  has  there  been  a  higher  standard  of  ethics 
within  the  last  twenty-five  years  in  business  practices? 
In  political  life? 

How  does  our  treatment  of  the  dependent  classes,  such  as 

the  sick,  the  poor,  the  crippled,  the  defective,  compare 

with  a  generation  ago? 
How  would  you  answer  the  statement  that  the  Great  War 

had  shown  the  breakdown  of  Christianity  ? 
In  what  ways  is  the  missionary  enterprise  hopeful  to-day  ? 

What  are  its  chief  obstacles?    Are  all  the  obstacles  on 

the  foreign  field? 

How  does  hope  for  the  Kingdom  embrace  the  great  national 
and  social  aspirations  of  to-day  ? 

What  form  of  government  seems  to  you  best  adapted  to  the 
promotion  of  the  ideals  of  Jesus  ? 

Do  you  believe  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  properly  inter- 
preted, could  be  made  dominant  in  our  social  life  ?  AVhat 
sacrifices  would  it  mean  for  different  classes  in  the  com- 
munity, such  as  employers  and  employees? 

Are  we  as  a  nation  making  progress  toward  the  ideal 
of  Christian  brotherhood?  What  evidences  do  you  find 
for  your  answer  ? 

How  do  you  account  for  the  fact  that  the  best  movements 
so  often  become  debased? 

Would  Christianity  be  just  as  influential  as  a  social  power 
of  salvation  if  the  church  did  not  exist  ? 


CHAPTEE   XIII 
THE  LAST  JUDGMENT 

Matthew  25.  31-46 

"When  the  Son  of  man  comes  in  his  glory  and  all  the  angels 
with  him,  then  he  will  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and 
all  nations  will  be  gathered  in  front  of  him;  he  will  separate 
them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  separates  the  sheep  from 
the  goats,  setting  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand  and  the  goats 
on  his  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  to  those  on  his  right, 
'Come,  you  whom  my  Father  has  blessed,  come  into  your  in- 
heritance in  the  realm  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world. 
For  I  was  hungry  and  you  fed  me, 

I  was  thirsty  and  you  gave  me  drink, 
I  was  a  stranger  and  you  entertained  me, 

I  was  unclothed  and  you  clothed  me, 
I  was  ill  and  you  looked  after  me, 
I  was  in  prison  and  you  visited  me.' 
Then  the  just  will  answer, 
'Lord,    when    did   we    see   you    hungry   and   fed   you?    or 
thirsty  and  gave  you  drink? 
when  did  we  see  you  a  stranger  and  entertain  you?  or 

unclothed  and  clothed  you? 
when  did  we  see  you  ill  or  in  prison  and  visit  you?' 
The  King  will  answer  them,  'I  tell  you  truly,  in  so  far  as  you 
did  it  to  one  of  these  brothers  of  mine,  even  to  the  least  of 
them,  you  did  it  to  me.'    Then  he  will  say  to  those  on  the  left, 
'Begone  from  me,  you  accursed  ones,  to  the  eternal  fire  which. 
has  been  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels! 
For  I  was  hungry  but  you  never  fed  me, 

I  was  thirsty  but  you  never  gave  me  drink, 
I  was  a  stranger  but  you  never  entertained  me, 

I  was  unclothed  but  you  never  clothed  me, 
I  was  ill  and  in  prison  but  you  never  looked  after  me.' 
Then  they  will  answer  too,  'Lord,  when  did  we  ever  see  you 
hungry  or  thirsty  or   a  stranger  or   unclothed  or  ill   or   in 
prison,  and  did  not  minister  to  you?'     Then  he  will  answer 
them,  'I  tell  you  truly,  in  so  far  as  you  did  not  do  it  to  one  of 
these,  even  the  least  of  them,  you  did  not  do  it  to  me.' 
So  they  shall  depart  to  eternal  punishment, 
and  the  just  to  eternal  life." 
123 


124    STUDIES  m  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

The  Final  Sepaeation 

The  good  man,  in  an  age  of  savagery,  was  the  strong 
man.  The  aristocrat  was  the  one  who  could  deal  the  stout- 
est hlow  or  swing  the  heaviest  club.  The  first  test  of 
human  value  was  physical.  Men  have  also  been  judged 
as  good  or  worthless  according  to  race.  The  Greek  ex- 
pressed his  sense  of  superiority  b}'^  dividing  all  men  into 
Greeks  and  Barbarians.  The  Hebrew  did  the  same  with 
his  terms  "Jew"  and  "Gentile."  This  crude  type  of  classifi- 
cation is  still  kept  alive  by  race  prejudice.  Another  com- 
mon basis  for  estimating  worth  to-day  is  wealth.  Fre- 
quently it  is  social  standing  and  family  connection  by 
which  men  are  classified;  frequently  it  is  an  intellectual 
test — separating  the  learned  from  the  ignorant.  Some- 
times it  is  religious,  men  being  rated  good  or  bad  accord- 
ing to  whether  they  are  members  of  the  church  or  not. 

In  view  of  these  varied  classifications  Jesus'  division  of 
mankind  into  two  great  classes  is  intensely  interesting. 
There  is  a  deep  solemnity  in  his  announcement  that  it  is 
the  final  separation  and  the  only  one  that  has  eternal 
significance.  He  passes  by  every  time-honored  standard  of 
value  which  has  ever  been  applied.  His  basis  of  judgment 
is  not  intellectual,  financial,  or  even  religious,  in  the  con- 
ventional sense.  Men  are  to  be  judged  simply  on  the  basis 
of  whether  or  not  they  have  shown  love  to  their  fellows. 
For  that  determines  their  true  relationship  to  Him.  No 
matter  what  intellectual  achievements  may  be  ours,  no 
matter  how  high  our  social  position  or  how  honored  our 
name,  no  matter  how  perfect  our  record  of  religious  ob- 
servances, if  we  have  walked  through  life  with  eyes  blinded 
by  selfishness  or  indifference,  if  we  have  lived  in  the  pres- 
ence of  suffering  and  hunger  and  loneliness  and  oppression 
and  have  not  been  stirred  to  minister  to  their  relief,  we 
have  no  place  in  the  eternal  kingdom  of  God,  and  are  cast 
out  into  darkness.  Surely,  these  are  the  most  solemn 
words  ever  pronounced! 

The  Aeistocracy  of  God 
Think  what  an  overturning  tliis  picture  makes  of  the 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT  125 

ideas  of  goodness  and  acceptance  with  God  which  were 
common  among  the  Jews  of  Jesus'  day.  Is  it  any  the  less 
upsetting  to  the  common  ideas  of  goodness  in  our  time? 
It  reveals  a  vast  difference  between  the  divine  estimate  of 
human  goodness  and  worth  and  the  human  estimate.  It 
is  a  vivid  New  Testament  illustration  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment declaration,  "For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  Jehovah.  For  as 
the  heavens  are  higlier  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways"  (Isa.  55.  8,  9).  The  surprising 
feature  of  the  judgment,  both  to  those  who  were  admitted 
to  the  Kingdom  and  to  those  who  were  shut  out,  was  that 
Christ  claimed  the  poor  and  needy  as  his  brethren  in  so 
real  a  sense  that  what  was  done  to  them  was  done  to 
liim.  But  such  a  claim  is  in  keeping  with  his  character 
as  the  Son  of  man  and  Son  of  God.  God  is  his  Father  and 
their  Father.  It  is  a  realistic  portrayal  of  the  truth  that  to 
love  God  is  to  love  man,  and  to  serve  God  is  to  serve  man. 

How  many  of  the  tests  of  goodness  and  worth  which  we 
commonly  apply  to  ourselves  and  others  Jesus  utterly  rules 
out !  There  is  no  mention  of  creeds.  Yet  think  how  wide- 
spread has  been  the  belief  that  correct  ideas  about  religious 
doctrine  would  fit  a  man  for  the  final  judgment.  Those 
who  were  shut  out  were  no  doubt  every  bit  as  orthodox  in 
their  opinions  as  the  others,  perhaps  some  of  them  more 
so.  Yet  correctness  of  opinion,  if  it  is  barren  of  the  good 
fruit  of  mercy  and  love,  is  of  no  value  at  God's  judgment, 
however  high  it  may  be  rated  in  lower  courts. 

Religious  connections  are  likewise  valued  at  zero.  People 
get  into  the  unconscious  habit  of  thinking  that  familiarity 
with  ecclesiastical  affairs  and  mingling  with  religious  peo- 
ple, or  holding  some  religious  position,  in  some  way  be- 
comes automatically  a  virtue  in  them.  The  delusion  is 
helped  on  by  the  fact  that  it  does  secure  recognition  for 
them  on  earth. 

Wealth  and  reputation  likewise  are  ^'counted  unto  men 
for  righteousness''  in  earthly  courts.  Unfortunately,  Saint 
James'  warning  against  respect  of  persons  is  frequently 
a  description  of  actual  happening.  "For  if  there  come  into 
your  sjTiagogue  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  fine  clothing. 


126  STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OF  JESUS 

and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile  clothing ;  and  ye 
have  regard  to  him  that  weareth  the  fine  clothing,  and  say, 
Sit  thou  here  in  a  good  place ;  and  ye  say  to  the  poor  man, 
Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  under  my  footstool ;  do  ye  not  make 
distinctions  among  yourselves,  and  become  judges  with  evil 
thoughts?"  (James  2.  2-4.)  But  the  court  of  the  last 
judgment  is  a  bankruptcy  court  so  far  as  earthly  wealth 
is  concerned.  What  value  would  a  complete  command  of 
the  French  language  be  to  us  if  the  examination  we  had 
to  stand  were  on  mathematics?  Just  as  much  value  as 
learning,  wealth,  power,  with  or  without  religious  connec- 
tions, will  be  when  God  will  judge  us  on  the  basis  of  some- 
thing entirely  different,  our  attitude  toward  men  and  the 
reality  of  our  neighborliness. 

"If—" 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  once  asked  what  his  wish  would  be, 
if  he  could  have  one  wish  granted.  He  replied  that  it 
would  be  that  men's  beliefs  might  become  their  convictions. 
What  a  difference  it  would  make  in  the  world  if  the  belief 
of  all  Christian  people  that  love  to  their  fellow  men  is  a 
beautiful  quality,  should  become  an  intense  conviction 
that  the  amount  of  ministering  love  they  showed  their 
fellow  men  would  be  the  sole  determining  factor  in  their 
eternal  destiny !  Think  of  the  changes  such  a  conviction 
would  bring.  Would  there  be  quite  so  much  unrelieved 
poverty?  Quite  so  many  suicides?  Quite  so  many  babies 
dying  for  lack  of  pure  milk  and  proper  care?  Would 
there  be  so  many  children  in  orphan  asylums,  with  so 
many  childless  homes?  Would  only  a  fraction  of  one  per 
cent  of  the  population  have  any  idea  what  the  county  jail 
was  like,  or  how  the  town  farm  was  conducted?  Would 
there  be  quite  so  many  saloons  to  keep  the  jail  and  poorfarm 
filled  ?  Would  there  be  as  many  automobiles  bought  every 
year  as  there  are  now  ?  Think  over  your  own  life  for  the 
past  year.  What  difference  would  such  an  intense  convic- 
tion make  in  it  ? 

"When  Saw  We  Thee  Hungey  ?" 
To  order  our  life  with  a  clear  appreciation  of  the  basis 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT  137 

of  the  last  judgment  means  that  we  bring  into  it  both  a 
new  motive  and  a  new  scale  of  values.  The  new  motive 
which  dignifies  and  exalts  even  the  lowliest  service  is  the 
knowledge  that  it  is  acceptable  as  an  ottering  to  Christ  him- 
self. The  new  scale  of  values  will  rate  as  of  the  highest 
importance  every  opportunity  of  service.  The  things  which 
we  have  rejected  in  the  building  of  our  careers,  the  per- 
sonal consultations  which  we  grudged  because  they  took 
time  from  business,  the  visits  to  sick  friends  which  were 
depressing,  the  committee  meeting,  the  Sunday  school  class, 
the  calls  of  poor  relatives,  and  old  time  friends  who  were 
always  in  hard  luck  become  vastly  important.  Weighed 
by  Christ's  standard  these  are  the  most  important  things 
we  do. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  love  which  wins  the 
welcome  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom,"  is  a  love  which  goes  out  of  its  way  to  find  the 
stranger,  the  sick,  the  unclothed,  and  the  prisoner.  It 
is  rather  easy  to  "brighten  the  corner  where  you  are." 
The  fundamental  Christian  message  is  to  brighten  the 
corner  where  some  one  else  is  and  which  you  go  out  of  your 
beaten  path  to  find.  "The  Son  of  man  came  to  seek  and 
to  save."  Most  of  us  are  willing  to  help  to  save  some  one 
who  may  happen  to  need  saving  at  a  place  conveniently  near 
to  us.  Where  we  fail  to  follow  Christ  is  in  seeking  those 
who  need  saving.  The  stranger,  the  naked,  the  sick,  the 
prisoner — all  these  represent  classes  that  we  must  go  out 
of  our  way  to  find.  What  kind  of  excuse  would  it  be  for 
not  visiting  those  in  prison  to  say  that  we  never  saw  any 
prisoners?  How  could  we  expect  to  see  any,  in  our  office 
or  at  church  or  on  the  boulevard?  It  has  been  truly  said 
that  if  people  could  actually  see  the  misery  within  ten 
blocks  of  them,  they  could  not  eat  their  dinner  in  peace. 
The  Christian  conscience  must  annihilate  those  ten  blocks 
and  spoil  the  dinner!  We  eat  too  many  dinners  in  peace 
anyhow.  When  Eichard  Watson  Gilder  was  on  the  Tene- 
ment House  Commission  of  New  York  he  wanted  to  find 
out  the  cause  of  the  many  tenement  house  fires.  He  had 
a  fire  department  gong  placed  in  his  bedroom  and  every 
tenement  house  fire  was  reported  on  the  gong,  so  that  he 


128    STUDIES  IN  THE  PAEABLES  OP  JESUS 

might  go.  He  went  out  of  his  way  to  serve.  His  love  was 
so  great  that  he  allowed  himself  to  be  riotously  disturbed 
by  the  needs  of  others.  That  gong  connecting  his  home 
with  the  lower  East  Side  is  a  fit  symbol  of  the  Christian 
love  which  this  parable  demands.  How  wide  a  circle  does 
your  daily  work  cover  ?  How  much  actual  need  do  you  see 
every  day  ?  How  much  do  you  know  about  that  which  you 
do  not  see? 

Ministry  by  Pkevention 

In  our  complex  life  to-day  a  very  merciful  form  of 
ministry  is  loving  and  effective  prevention.  It  is  frequently 
not  so  spectacular  a  way  of  showing  love,  but  it  yields 
far  larger  returns  in  social  benefit  and  blessing.  Let  us 
visit  the  prisoners  and  do  all  in  our  power  to  see  that  they 
are  ministered  to  with  true  humanity.  But  by  putting  the 
saloon  out  of  business  there  will  not  be  nearly  so  many 
prisoners  to  suffer.  We  minister  to  the  sick  both  by  the 
kindly  visit  to  those  afflicted  and  by  the  energetic  endeavor 
to  change  conditions  which  cause  sickness.  We  clothe  the 
naked  both  by  a  gift  of  clothing  and  by  a  vigorous  help 
to  all  the  forces  which  are  working  for  a  fairer  distribution 
of  the  profits  of  industry,  so  that  men  shall  be  more  able 
to  clothe  their  own  families. 

"Before  Him  Shall  Be  Gathered  All  Nations" 

But  can  we  limit  this  love  to  our  own  town  or  even 
nation  ?  The  vast  increase  in  the  facilities  of  communica- 
tion and  travel  have  made  the  world  very  much  smaller. 
Joseph  Cook  once  said :  "The  nineteenth  century  has  made 
the  world  a  neighborhood.  The  twentieth  century  will 
make  it  a  brotherhood."  The  twentieth  century  must  make 
it  a  brotherhood,  for  the  fact  that  the  telegraph,  wireless, 
steamship,  and  railroad  have  brought  the  world  to  our 
very  door  has  vastly  increased  our  responsibility  to  minister 
to  its  need.  The  Orient  has  been  moved  into  our  back 
yard.  We  can  go  to  Japan  in  the  time  which  it  took  to  go 
from  Baltimore  to  Boston  by  stage  during  the  Revolution. 
As  the  Orient  grows  nearer  in  time  and  accessibility,  our 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT  129 

responsibility  deepens.  The  work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of 
America  in  ministering  to  the  six  million  men  in  European 
prison  camps  during  tlie  war  is  an  illustration  of  the 
modern  meaning  of  "I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
me."  Will  it  be  a  valid  excuse  for  us  in  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment to  say  that  we  never  saw  any  starving  Armenians,  or 
orphaned  Belgians,  or  hungry  Chinamen,  or  desolate  chil- 
dren in  India  ? 

"Ye  Have  Done  It  Unto  Me" 

It  must  never  be  imagined  that  this  parable  teaches  that 
philanthropy  can  take  the  place  of  religion  or  that  if  a 
man  is  kind  and  generous,  he  has  no  need  of  religion.  It 
joins  religion  to  conduct  in  the  most  thoroughgoing  way, 
for  it  supplies  the  strongest  motive  to  service  to  our  fellow 
men  which  has  ever  been  conceived.  It  shows  that  service 
to  man  is  service  to  Grod,  and  puts  the  high  and  strong  in- 
centive of  devotion  to  Christ  into  all  deeds  of  mercy  and 
love.  The  parable  assigns  the  highest  possible  place  in 
men's  lives  to  religion,  for  it  makes  a  man's  entrance  into 
the  Kingdom  depend  on  his  relation  to  Christ.  The  genu- 
ineness of  that  relation  to  Christ  is  evidenced  in  turn  by 
their  conduct  toward  their  fellow  men.  Out  of  the  motive 
of  devotion  to  Christ  which  is  pictured  here  has  flowed  the 
great  stream  of  Christian  benevolence,  social  feeling,  and 
practical  helpfulness.  "The  streams  that  turn  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  world  take  their  rise  in  solitary  places." 
In  the  motive  of  devotion  to  Christ  a  vast  amount  of  the 
energy  for  the  tasks  of  social  service  has  taken  its  rise. 
Tennyson,  in  his  poem,  "In  the  Children's  Hospital,"  has 
shown  the  spiritual  energy  which  this  very  parable  supplies 
for  the  work  of  ministry  to  need.  A  little  girl  is  being 
prepared  for  a  surgical  operation  and  prays  to  Jesus  to 
help  her  bear  the  pain  and  the  skeptical  surgeon  smiles 
half  in  contempt  at  her  faith.  Then  the  nurse  who  tells 
the  story  adds : 

"Then  he  muttered  half  to  himself,  hut  I  know  that  I  heard 

him  say, 
'All  very  well — but  the  good  Lord  Jesus  has  had  his  day.' 


130    STUDIES  IN  THE  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

"Had?  has  it  come?    It  has  only  dawned.    It  will  come  by  and 

by. 
O  how  could  I  serve  in  the  wards  if  the  hope  of  the  world 

were  a  lie? 
How  could  I  bear  with  the  sights  and  the  loathsome  smells 

of  disease 
But  that  He  said,  'Ye  do  it  to  me,  when  ye  do  it  to  these'?" 

The  Waening 

The  parable  raises  the  startling  thought  of  what  a  per- 
fectly respectable,  upright,  and  honored  life  a  man  may 
lead  and  yet  miss  completely  entrance  into  the  Kingdom! 
That  was  the  great  surprise  of  the  judgment  to  those  who 
were  cast  out  into  darkness,  and  they  were  struck  with 
utter  consternation.  Their  first  wild  thought  was  that 
they  had  been  mistaken  for  some  one  else,  that  they  had 
never  neglected  Christ,  Have  we  unconsciously  fallen  into 
the  habit  of  allowing  man's  approval  to  take  the  place  of 
the  eager  quest  of  God's  approval  ?  Think  of  the  surprise 
awaiting  a  man  well  regarded  in  his  cit}',  one  of  its  sub- 
stantial citizens,  of  high  personal  character,  the  father  of 
a  fine  family  who  Avere  members  of  the  church ;  an  upright 
man  but  a  busy  man  who  had  no  time  to  be  ''bothered" 
with  beggars  and  collections  and  charity  and  reform  move- 
ments; who  "didn't  believe  in  foreign  missions" — tliink 
of  his  surprise  to  learn  that  his  high  position  of  respect  in 
his  community,  his  irreproachable  social  and  family  con- 
nections, had  no  weight  whatever  in  the  Last  Judgment. 
Does  not  such  a  picture  cause  us  to  pause  and  examine  the 
proportion  of  time  and  effort  we  give  to  the  only  things 
that  are  going  to  count  after  all?  A  question  which  was 
often  on  the  lips  of  Martin  Luther  deserves  attention  from 
all  of  us,  "What  will  God  Almighty  say  about  it  in  the 
end?" 

Foe  Eeflection  and  Discussion 

What  means  of  religious  education  can  be  used  to  impress 
the  emphasis  which  Jesus  placed  upon  love  and  service  ? 
Why  has  this  emphasis  of  Jesus  so  frequently  been  lost 
sight  of? 

What  forces  have  been  active  in  the  social  awakening  of  the 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT  131 

clmrch  in  the  prcscDt  day  ?  Wliat  is  tlie  pla,ce  of  the  reli- 
gious motive  in  sooial  service?  Is  it  to-day  a  strong  or 
a  weak  one? 

What  kinds  of  need  aie  there  in  a  city  which  we  do  not 
see  unless  we  look  for  them  ?    In  a  country  community  ? 

In  what  respects  is  the  spirit  of  Jesus  manifested  in  your 
community  in  its  relation  to  dependent  and  delinquent 
children  ? 

In  what  different  ways  does  war  oppose  t)ie  Christian 
principle  of  love  ? 

Is  your  religious  life  occupied  with  secondary  or  primary 

interests  ? 
What  activities  can  a  Bible  class  or  Sunday  school  carry 

on  which  correspond  to  the  things  commended  by  Jesus  ? 


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